


Behind Blue Eyes

by t_dragon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Dog Hybrid Park Chanyeol, Happy Ending, Human Byun Baekhyun, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrids, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Psychological Trauma, Sexual Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-01-13 12:34:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 56,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18469084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dragon/pseuds/t_dragon
Summary: Baekhyun's entire life is turned upside down the night a runaway hybrid dash out in front of his bike





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, hey, hello.  
> So, this turned into a monster.......in more ways that one, heh, please check the tags before reading further!  
> I thought this would be half this long when I started, and it's double the amount of words of my previous fest fics... So that's a feat I got without really knowing if I wanted to get it or not. But, yeah, a lot happens, my prompter was okay with heavy angst and smut, and so an unconscious challenge was born to try to make this angsty, and who does not default to sexual slavery for angst? ......a lot of people, myself included mostly, but eh!  
> This was an experience, without a doubt, and I hope you enjoy it, if you decide to read it! But yes, be very mindful of the tags. I tried to be as thorough as possible!  
> Thank you to the mods for this amazing fest, I've had a lot of fun<3

 It was a normal Thursday night, and Baekhyun was as per usual watching Jongin flirt. Or, rather, making a fool out of himself  _ trying _ . Basically like every other Thursday that Kyungsoo, Baekhyun’s best friend, ended up in the bar where both Baekhyun and Jongin worked.

 Because Kyungsoo was one of the few people who was immune to Jongin’s charm, and had so far managed to evade his advances, and of course that only made Jongin  _ even more _ interested in catching the elusive man. Baekhyun had several times tried to talk some sense into Jongin, but the younger had yet to give up, and if Baekhyun knew him well enough (which he did), it would take a lot for the giving up to actually happen.

 Which was why Jongin was making conversation with a mildly disinterestedly-looking Kyungsoo, who was sipping on his drink (made by Baekhyun, because Kyungsoo said he did not trust Jongin to make his drinks, though they both knew Jongin would never take advantage of a situation like that) and giving grunts and few-worded mutters in response.

 “Come on, hyung, what’s the harm in letting me have a taste? I think we both know it’s going to be worth your while,” Jongin purred, throwing in a wink just for the hell of it. Well, at least he was polite.

 Jongin was leaning onto the bar in a way that made it obvious that it was only to enhance his arms, but not even that seemed to be working. Which was pretty amazing, considering Jongin’s arms were pretty fucking fantastic, and had gotten some insane results the few times Jongin had, quite literally, “pulled out the big guns”. Jongin’s pun, not Baekhyun’s.

 “You’ll have to get rid of that ugly mullet first, and even then it’d be a no,” Kyungsoo drawled, obviously already so done with this conversation.

 “It’s not ugly!” Jongin protested, looking  _ very _ offended for a moment, before the smirk returned. “I’ll have you know it’s  _ perfect _ for holding on to and tugging at, people love it…”

 Kyungsoo grimaced, and Baekhyun knew it was not because of his drink even though he had just taken a sip. “Ew, down boy!”

 Another customer sidled up to the bar, demanding attention, and Jongin straightened up from his position to tend to them, but not before throwing Kyungsoo one last flirty wink.

 “One day, Do Kyungsoo, one day I’ll have the honor of having you on my dick, or me on yours,” Jongin said, making it sound like a promise before he wistfully sighed and turned away to go do his job.

 Silence reigned for a while before Baekhyun glanced over at the seemingly completely unbothered Kyungsoo.

 “Maybe you should just take him for a ride, see what all the rage is about, get him literally on your dick to get him figuratively off of your dick-” Baekhyun began, before Kyungsoo sent him a stern look.”Okay, fine, I’ll shut up, do whatever!”

 “Not that asshole,” Kyungsoo muttered down into his drink, while Jongin shouted a “Me!” from where he was putting something together, making Baekhyun laugh before he set off to also do his job. There was still some time left until his shift ended, and he was certainly not paid to just stand around and do nothing.

 

 The night was clear, barely a cloud across the sky, the stars twinkling happily in the darkness. The slight sliver of moon did not offer much in terms of light, but that was fine. Baekhyun had the streetlights - and he prefered the darkness anyway. It brought a whole other kind of excitement to zooming down the roads, another set of risks that had more adrenaline flood his system. It was intoxicating, the danger, and Baekhyun  _ loved _ it.

 The barely illuminated darkness around him, the wind pressing at him, the steady rumble through his body and all around him, piercing the otherwise so silent night - this was where Baekhyun thrived.

 Suddenly, something dashed out in front of Baekhyun, and he quickly tried to steer out of the way, but it was already too late. He could feel the impact as his bike toppled over, before it continued across the pavement, dragging Baekhyun with it as his leg was stuck beneath the heavy machine.

 When he finally came to a stop, Baekhyun just lay there for a moment, blinking slowly as his mind spun. His head had been knocked into the road, and even with the protection of his helmet, it left him in a momentary daze. Then everything rushed back, and Baekhyun groaned from the onslaught of pain. It was not bad enough for him to suspect anything too serious, but he knew there would be bruises at the very least. Hopefully his leathers would have protected him enough.

 Managing to get his leg free, Baekhyun carefully tried it out to make sure it was not broken, before he turned around to see what had happened to whatever had gone out in front of him.

 Or rather,  _ whoever. _ They were still there, lying on the ground all curled up, and even though Baekhyun was a bit away, he could see that their entire body was trembling.

 Quickly getting up, Baekhyun took his helmet off and gently placed it next to his bike that he quickly got upright again, before he rushed over to the person.

 “Hey, are you okay?” Baekhyun called out, grunting as he got down on his knees next to the person. Yeah, nothing might be broken, but everything was not right… “Are you stupid, you can't just run out into the street-”

 Baekhyun’s voice cut off as he tried to get the person - boy? - onto his back to check on them, and their beanie slid off of their head. Nestled in a mess of silverish hair were a pair of very non-human ears.

 A hybrid.

 “Ah,  _ shit! _ ” Baekhyun cursed, immediately regretting it when the hybrid curled in on itself even more, its body trembling even harder.

 Hybrids were rare nowadays; not that they had ever been many. Like all other “exotic” beings, they had been hunted and used by humanity to the point of near extinction, until the governments had decided to step in and put laws in place to protect them. Not that it had completely solved the problem, though, merely moved it underground instead. Just a few years ago, owning a hybrid had been seen as a sign of high status, and nowadays, owning a hybrid signified this even more.

 Baekhyun knew that a lone hybrid running around in the city this early in the morning, obviously not caring about taking precautions on trafficked roads (and Baekhyun’s bike was not quiet, it made itself known wherever it went), was not a good thing. It could be because of a few different things, and most of them were not good. And considering the way the hybrid was trying to make itself smaller whilst almost shaking apart on the ground, Baekhyun had good reasons to believe that even if there were a few good reasons, they did not apply to this situation.

 “Hey, hey, I’m sorry!” Baekhyun tried to calm the hybrid, hands fluttering centimeters above the body in front of him as he could not decide on what to do, how to handle the situation, before deciding to place one hand on an arm, and the other on silky soft hair. It was ridiculously soft as Baekhyun began to run his hands through it, but he did not allow himself to become distracted by that now. “Come on, please calm down, we need to get you off of the road and decide what to do next, okay? Are you hurt in any way?”

 The hybrid refused to move, but it seemed to start trembling less, and Baekhyun could not help but wonder if it had anything to do with the petting of its hair. The two ears without a doubt belonged to some kind of a canine, so maybe scratching behind the ear could help…

 As soon as Baekhyun’s fingertips came in contact with the impossibly softer ears, a hoarse growl was heard, and then Baekhyun was hissing in pain as he fell backwards onto his butt, hand stinging, as the hybrid crouched low to the ground, piercing blue eyes trained on Baekhyun.

 Furious, piercing blue eyes filled with  _ fear _ that had Baekhyun immediately forget the slight trickle down his hand.

 Clutching his injured hand against his chest, Baekhyun held out his other towards the hybrid, palm forwards.

 “Wait, calm down! I'm sorry, I won't touch your ears, I promise, I just wanted to help you calm down so I can make sure you're not injured!” Baekhyun exclaimed, the hybrid still tense in front of him. Switching tactics, Baekhyun softened his tone, voice barely above a whisper when he spoke again. “You're in trouble, aren't you? Running from something?”

 The hybrid flinched, pulling back and now looking more panicked than angry, and Baekhyun could see that it was getting ready to bolt away, and he reached out to stop but knew he would not be fast enough-

 But as the hybrid pushed itself up, a pained whimper filled the air as it collapsed right back down again, one surprisingly long leg pulled up to a chest. Baekhyun’s bike must have clipped it in the leg, and he immediately felt much worse actually knowing he had done some real damage.

 “Hey, stay down, you'll just worsen it if you try to get back up,” Baekhyun hurried to get out as he crawled over to the hybrid, who was now softly sobbing, and it tugged at Baekhyun’s heartstrings. “Let me  _ help _ you,  _ please _ ? You don't have to trust me, but I can't just leave you here like this…”

 The hybrid looked up at Baekhyun, eyes wet and red, matching its cheeks. Lower lip pulled between teeth, it just stared at Baekhyun, before giving the smallest of nods. Exhaling heavily, Baekhyun could not help the small, relieved smile on his lips as he gently squeezed the hybrid’s shoulder, then scrambled off of the ground and over to his bike.

 Yet again he thanked his foresight, for putting his phone in the more protected position in his bag - had it been in his pocket it might have been ruined now after his little slide. But it was safe and protected, and working as Baekhyun quickly unlocked it and typed out a text.

 Baekhyun’s bike could handle a second passenger, but Baekhyun doubted the hybrid was in good enough of a shape to ride with him, so he needed some help. Thankfully, Baekhyun knew where he could get the needed help at this hour. It did not take long before he got a reply back, and when he did, he moved his bike to the side of the road to get it out of the way, before heading back to the hybrid.

 It was lying with its eyes closed, a pained frown on its face and an air of defeat around it, as if it had given up on everything. Sadness pulling at the corner of Baekhyun’s mouth as he sat down by the hybrid’s head, one hand reaching out towards it.

 As soon as Baekhyun’s fingers made contact with hair, the hybrid head snapped back, wide eyes locking in on Baekhyun’s.

 “Don't worry, I won't touch your ears,” Baekhyun promised, taking great care to make sure he did not even accidentally touch the fluffy triangles.

 Slowly, the hybrid seemed to trust this, and started to relax beneath Baekhyun’s touch, and Baekhyun took the opportunity to finally properly look over the hybrid. Long, lanky limbs combined with the short glimpse Baekhyun had gotten when the hybrid had stood up, he was pretty sure that the hybrid was taller than him. And from the facial features and the rather low voice that had produced the few noises Baekhyun had heard so far, he was pretty sure that the hybrid was male. A male canine hybrid, carelessly running around the night streets - all sirens were going off inside of Baekhyun’s mind.

 He did not know how much time went past as he just sat next to the hybrid, who's tears had stopped, but then Baekhyun could hear the sound of an engine, looking up in time to see a black, sleek car turn around the corner, before he was blinded by headlights and had to look away. Beneath his hand, the hybrid stiffened, but Baekhyun quickly hushed it.

 “It's okay, it's a friend of mine,” Baekhyun softly murmured, fingers carding through hair. “I can't take you on the back of my bike, so we needed a car.”

 The hybrid did not seem too reassured, but it stayed in place, which was good enough for Baekhyun.

 The car came to a smooth stop next to Baekhyun and the hybrid, and Baekhyun could almost hear the disapproval before the door opened and the driver stepped out.

 “Baek, what the-” Joohyun began, before her eyes slid down to the very obvious non-human ears, and her mouth snapped closed.

 “So, I know this is looking really bad…,” Baekhyun slowly said, Joohyun’s eyes pinning him with a glare that had Baekhyun shivering in fear. “But I really need the car to get us to a hospital or something-”

 As soon as the word “hospital” slipped past Baekhyun’s lips, the hybrid was scrambling into a sitting position, head shaking so hard that its ears were flopping all over the place, looking rather painful.

 “No hospital?” Baekhyun asked, as the hybrid once more shook his head and looked pleadingly at him. “You're  _ injured _ , you need medical attention-”

 “They can find you there,” Joohyun spoke up, voice silent.

 Confused, Baekhyun turned to look at Joohyun, who motioned towards her throat, then nodded to the hybrid. Turning back around, Baekhyun noticed the silver glinting around the hybrid’s neck, before it pulled its hoodie up to cover the necklace, head lowering in… Shame?

 “Let's go to your place, Baekhyun,” Joohyun decided, heading over to the car and opening the passenger door. “I can help. You take him in the car, and I'll take the bike.”

 “Wh-what-” Baekhyun stammered, feeling almost dizzy as Joohyun clearly took control of the situation.

 “Do you think you can stand?” Joohyun asked the hybrid, voice soft, and very obviously ignoring Baekhyun.

 Sighing, Baekhyun knew he just had to go with it, and hope to get answers later.

 “He can't put his weight on his leg, I think that's where I hit him,” Baekhyun answered as he stood up, getting the hybrid’s beanie from the grounds. “Let's get you in the car, okay? Can we help you into it?”

 Still using its hoodie to conceal its throat, the hybrid gave a small nod, and through their combined forces, Baekhyun and Joohyun managed to get it into the car.

 As Baekhyun gently shut the door, Joohyun was already moving towards the bike.

 “Be careful, please?” Baekhyun asked as he moved around to the driver’s side.

 Pulling up the zipper of her leather jacket, Joohyun sent Baekhyun an amused glance.

 “I'll do just fine, and you know I take better care of your baby than you do,” Joohyun teased, laughing as Baekhyun protested in outrage - he took the  _ best _ care of his baby! “Now get going, I'll feel much better when we're off the streets…”

 Baekhyun frowned at that, because Joohyun obviously knew more than Baekhyun though she told him nothing, and he wanted to know what it was, but instead of wasting time asking, he nodded before sliding into the driver’s seat. Fixing the seat and mirrors to fit him, Baekhyun then waited for Joohyun to climb onto the bike, letting out a soft, relieved sigh as she got it to start. Starting the car, Baekhyun returned Joohyun’s nod, and then they drove off.

 The drive was not far, but with the suffocating silence permeating the air, it felt like it took thrice the normal time. But Baekhyun did not know what to say to fill the silence, wanting to ask questions, unsure of where to begin or if the hybrid would even answer them.

 “Hey, do you have a name?” was what finally ended up slipping out through Baekhyun’s lips, when the silence became too heavy. Eyes focused on the empty road, Baekhyun kept glancing over at the hybrid, almost missing the small nod. “Can you tell me it, please?”

 This prompted a shake, and Baekhyun nodded softly as he repressed a sigh.

 “Okay, that’s fine, you don’t have to,” Baekhyun said, aiming for reassuring, not knowing if he made it. The hybrid was curled up in the seat as well as it could with its long and injured limbs, eyes focused on the world outside of the car.

 

 As Joohyun rolled the bike into Baekhyun’s garage, Baekhyun parked the car on the street, eyes not leaving the way Joohyun was handling his baby. Sure, he had full faith in his friend, obviously, but there was just something about leaving his baby in someone else’s care like that. Like a parent of a newborn child, Baekhyun could not help but scrutinize Joohyun’s every move, until the bike was securely parked and the garage closed, and Joohyun walked over to help Baekhyun get the hybrid inside.

 Not for the first time, Baekhyun cursed the fact that he was living in an apartment on top of his garage, because even though that meant a massive garage, it also meant  _ stairs _ . And lugging a 185-something tall being up the stairs, balanced between Baekhyun’s 174 centimeters - though built - body and Joohyun’s 160-something petite body, was no easy feat. But they made it, managing to get the hybrid to the sofa with Baekhyun only lightly panting.

 Maybe he had been a bit lax on his workout lately… Or maybe he was just not meant to pull freakishly tall hybrids up stairs, though this particular hybrid seemed a bit lighter than Baekhyun would have guessed from first glance.

 “You have a first-aid kit, right?” Joohyun asked, moving even before Baekhyun gave an answer.

 “Yeah, bathroom, beneath the sink,” Baekhyun answered, kneeling down in front of the hybrid. “I’m going to help you with your pants, so we can see how badly injured your leg is, is that okay?”

 Hesitation was written clear all over the hybrid’s face, alongside the fear in it’s eyes, and it did not take long before the hybrid slowly began to shake it’s head.

 “I understand that you’re scared, and taking your pants off in front of two strangers can’t be easy, but your pants are too tight to roll up,” Baekhyun said, dragging a hand over his face to force the frustration away. He was normally a rather patient person, but this late at night, after hitting someone and slamming into the ground with his bike, Baekhyun’s patience was wearing thin from fatigue and left-over adrenaline. “Otherwise we’ll have to cut your pants, and I’m sure you don’t want to ruin them-”

 A nod interrupted Baekhyun, and he looked up at the hybrid in disbelief.

 “You’re okay with me cutting your pants open?” Another nod. “Uh, okay… Wait here, I’ll go get the scissors.”

 Baekhyun did not even know why he told the hybrid to wait, considering it would have a rather hard time moving on its own, but it felt like he should. And so he did, berating himself all the way over to the kitchen, finding his best scissors, and then heading back to the living room.

 Joohyun was back, the first-aid kit next to her on the floor, as well as some towels. She looked up as Baekhyun entered, frowning at the scissors, but did not say anything. Kneeling down next to her, Baekhyun glanced up at the hybrid, before he sighed and set off to try to as carefully as possible cut through the tight denim pant-leg without doing too much damage.

 It took the combined effort of Baekhyun and Joohyun to get the pant-leg cut open and away from the hybrid’s leg, and it was not without its troubles - and a lot of pain, considering the low hisses and groans spilling from the hybrid’s mouth, and how its face twisted in pain. And Baekhyun was not surprised, considering how bad the leg looked when they finally revealed it.

 Baekhyun had seen his fair share of blood during his career as a bartender, especially in the bar he was working in now. It was not one of those nicer city bars, with people in elegant suits sipping on ember liquids in crystal glasses - it was rather the opposite. And that meant a few bar fights every now and then, sometimes with broken bottles, that Baekhyun have had to break apart. He even had a few scars from them, so he really was not unused to blood.

 But the hybrid’s bloodied leg, with scratches and lacerations, almost had Baekhyun feel faint. Maybe it was the fact that this hybrid was completely innocent, or the fact that it was because of  _ Baekhyun _ that it was so injured, but Baekhyun had to take a moment to just breathe and gather himself.

 “Oh, dear… This is going to hurt,” Joohyun sighed, before looking up at the hybrid with a small smile. “I’m going to have to clean your leg, and it’s going to hurt, but I need you to stay as still as possible, okay?”

 Wrapping its arms tightly around himself, the hybrid nodded, and without even thinking about it, Baekhyun got up and took one of the pillows from the sofa and handed it to the hybrid.

 “Here, hold on to this,” Baekhyun said. “Might make it easier.”

 The hybrid hesitated for a moment, before accepting the pillow and pressing it against its chest, burrowing its face into the top of it.

 “Help me hold his leg,” Joohyun said, showing Baekhyun where to place his hands and how to hold the hybrid’s leg, as she began to as gently as possibly clean, but still making sure it was done well. Joohyun then moved on to checking the leg and assess the injuries, poking and prodding and making Baekhyun wince in sympathy pain.

 It was a long process, and Baekhyun was pretty sure he heard his pillow being ripped apart, maybe by teeth, but he did not mind that too much. Much rather his pillow than him or Joohyun, to be honest.

 “There’s no obvious bone break, it might be fractured but it doesn’t seem like a complete fracture, which is good,” Joohyun mumbled as her hands kept working. “And I think I can bandage these wounds up without having to stitch them, which is good too. You can’t support yourself on this leg until we know for sure it’s not broken, though, okay?”

 The hybrid uncovered its face, cheeks wet with tears once more, and Baekhyun felt another pang in his heart. Going through this, without any pain medication… It must be terrible. Baekhyun had gotten pretty banged up a few times, due to his love for things going - preferably recklessly - fast, but he had always had the help of pain relief whenever he had been examined.

 But other thoughts were also simmering in his mind, and Baekhyun could not help but ask one of them.

 “How do you know all this?” Baekhyun asked, truly baffled, because this went further than something you have just picked up after dealing with this stuff every now and then.

 “I have an unfinished medical degree,” Joohyun answered with a shrug, as if it was nothing. “I wanted to work with medical care when I was younger, but things sort of… Didn’t work out quite that way, I guess.”

 When the hybrid’s legs was finally all clean and bandaged up, Joohyun asked it if it was hurting anywhere else. The hybrid shook its head, before seemingly remembering something, and holding out its hands. They were a bit scraped up, probably from falling down onto the pavement, but it needed nothing more than some minor cleaning, and would probably heal within a few days.

 All done with the hybrid, Joohyun instead turned towards Baekhyun.

 “Your turn, Baekhyun,” Joohyun said, waving for him to scoot closer.

 “Huh? But I’m fine, my leathers took most of the impact-” Baekhyun began, promptly shutting his mouth and obediently scooting over as Joohyun gave him a hard stare. She was  _ scary _ when she was angry, Baekhyun knew that, and he did  _ not _ want to make her angry.

 “Did you hit the ground?” Joohyun asked, to which Baekhyun responded with a nod. “Okay, show me which side.”

 Baekhyun turned his right side towards Joohyun, letting her help him slide his leather jacket off, and it was not until then that Baekhyun noticed how sore he was. Or, rather, it was not until then that Baekhyun  _ allowed _ himself to notice how sore he was.

 There were already bruises forming from his shoulder and down his arm, some smaller scrapes that were barely noticeable, but that was about it. Nothing felt broken or out of place, and there were no large, bleeding wounds. Joohyun wanted to check Baekhyun’s hip and leg as well, but Baekhyun refused that with pink cheeks, assuring Joohyun that sure, it felt like he was a bit banged up, but not worse than his arm. And he was more than okay with taking care of minor scrapes and wounds himself, it was not like he had never done that before.

 Listening to Baekhyun’s arguments with pursed lips, Joohyun held his gaze for a few very long seconds, before she nodded.

 “Okay, fine, but you should take a shower and get cleaned up and check so that everything is looking alright,” Joohyun said, to which Baekhyun sighed and nodded.

 All he really wanted was to climb into his bed and fall asleep, but he knew there still was some stuff left to do before he could do that. No matter how exhausted he was.

 “Sure, I’ll do that,” Baekhyun said, before getting up on his feet with a few grunts, looking down at the hybrid who now seemed to look a bit better. A bit more relaxed, though still in a bit of pain. “I’m going to go try find some clothes, Jongin should’ve left enough of his shit here for me to have something big enough to fit you. I’ll be right back.”

 As Baekhyun left the living room and headed for his guest bedroom, he could hear the soft mumbles of Joohyun behind him. He did not hear what she was saying, but he could imagine what questions she was asking. He wondered if she would succeed better in getting a name, because calling it ‘the hybrid’ felt rather stupid, if Baekhyun had to be honest.

 Pulling out a change of clothes from the piles of mismatched clothes in the dresser (Baekhyun had people over often enough that it became habit for them to leave some clothes behind), Baekhyun quickly checked on the bedding, making sure he had changed them since last time anyone had slept in the bed. He had a tendency to do that as soon as possible, but you never knew.

 Heading back to the living room, Baekhyun found Joohyun and the hybrid in the same position as before, and not a lot of progress seemed to have been made. The hybrid was not clutching the pillow to its chest as hard anymore, so that was something, at least.

 “I have a guest room that’s all yours, with freshly changed sheets,” Baekhyun said with a smile he hoped looked friendly enough. “I also managed to find clothes that should fit you. It’s late, would you like to go to bed?”

 The hybrid did not hesitate as long this time before it nodded, and Baekhyun saw that as tiny progress. It might be just to escape from Baekhyun and Joohyun, but Baekhyun hoped it was because the hybrid felt comfortable enough to realize that they just wanted to help.

 Baekhyun and Joohyun once more helped the hybrid walk, since even though if it could walk, it was not allowed to by Joohyun, and Baekhyun closed the door with a “Just yell if you want anything” and a smile as he and Joohyun left.

 They walked into the kitchen, and Baekhyun collapsed into one of his chairs with a sigh, putting his head down onto the cool surface of the table in front of him.

 “I can’t fucking believe this, I actually fucking hit a person…,” Baekhyun whispered, horror once more filling him over what he had done. This was the first time he had actually ran into another person, and without the adrenaline, he was starting to tremble a little.

 “Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it, if I know you right it must’ve been sudden, right?” Joohyun said as she sat down across from Baekhyun, fingers carding through Baekhyun’s hair to comfort.

 “Yeah, he ran straight out in front of my bike, and I tried to turn, but it was too late…,” Baekhyun mumbled, before lying his cheek against his table instead, so that he could peek up at Joohyun. “I think you have some things to tell me, by the way.”

 Joohyun took one look at Baekhyun’s face, before leaning back in her chair with a sigh, and Baekhyun pouted at the loss of her fingers in his hair. It felt nice when she was playing with it, and it was a small comfort in this mess that Baekhyun’s life had suddenly become.

 “Do you know what happens with hybrids that are taken from the various safe zones that exists for them?” Joohyun asked. “Like, the kidnapped ones?”

 Realizing that this was going to be a very serious discussion, Baekhyun sat up straight.

 “They’re sold by the underground to people who feel like they have the right to imprison them for their own entertainment,” Baekhyun said with a shrug, because of course he knew. He was no stranger to what was happening around the world, and he had some ties to the underground in a way. It kind of came with working as a bartender for a biker bar and being a biker himself. And Baekhyun might not be a member of any gang, but he still knew enough of them to know other stuff.

 Joohyun nodded, her eyes on her hands on top of the table. “That’s a pretty good simplification of it, yeah. A few of the different gangs tied to the underground also have clubs and stuff where they keep hybrids, for people who might not have the money to buy a hybrid of their own, but can rent them for a little while, at least… For whatever entertainment they seek, and are allowed to seek by the club they’re visiting.”

 Nausea was filling Baekhyun as he started to make the connections that he was sure Joohyun had already done.

 “The necklace around his throat…,” Joohyun said as she motioned towards her own throat, a frown appearing on her face. “It’s not a necklace. It’s a collar. A slave collar, to be precise. Containing the information about who he belongs to, and where.”

 Baekhyun sunk back in his seat, air leaving him in a heavy exhale. “That’s why he didn’t want to go to the hospital…”

 Joohyun nodded. “The hospitals are one of the first places whatever gang he belongs to will check. That, as well as hotels, police stations, hostels, and so on. These things run deep, you never know who is paid for what, so there are not a lot of places where you’re safe when you’re running from these kinds of things…”

 “Oh fucking hell,” Baekhyun got out as he put his hands over his face.

 What kind of shitty luck did he have that not only did he accidentally  _ hit _ someone, but that someone was most probably an escapee, running away from a life of abuse and imprisonment? What a fucking way to go, aiming for freedom just to be smacked with a near 200 kilogram heavy motorcycle.

 “Baek, I understand that this puts a lot of pressure on you, concealing someone most probably being intensely hunted right now-”

 “What?” Baekhyun asked in confusion as he removed his hands from his face to look at the concerned-looking Joohyun. “What are you talking about?”

 Joohyun shifted a little in her seat, but her gaze was firm as she began anew.

 “I understand that this is a lot, and you’d probably much rather want to get out of this situation as quickly as possible, but please consider letting him stay here, at least for just a few days,” Joohyun said, confusing Baekhyun even more. “You don’t really have any connections to this, so your place is sort of a safe house. I can help get him moved in a while, but I need a bit of time-”

 “Joohyun, wait, hold up, I never said anything about throwing him out,” Baekhyun hurried to interrupt his friend. “I was thinking about what a mess he’s in, yes, but not in a ‘I want out of this’ way, but a ‘I can’t believe both of our rotten luck’ kind of way. He’s welcome to stay here, it’s the  _ least _ I can do after maiming him, at the very least until we find somewhere safer for him.”

 Joohyun stared at Baekhyun in what appeared to be shock for a while, before a slow smile tugged her lips into a grateful curve.

 “That’s very kind of you, Baekhyun,” she said, and somehow the words made Baekhyun’s cheeks feel a bit warm. Baekhyun guessed it was the sincerity it was said with, piercing him deep. “Not a lot of people would do the same, especially not considering the guys we’re dealing with here.”

 Baekhyun just shrugged at that. “I think I handle worse guys on the regular, gangs might be scary, but bikers are a whole different breed when they get upset enough.”

 “Ah, yes, indeed, but biker gangs actually honor a code in between themselves, unlike the underground gangs,” Joohyun said, holding up a finger, and Baekhyun had to give her that point. “Biker gangs respect each other enough to stay away from each other, or try to take things through ‘legal’ means, while underground gangs have no qualms about killing each other off just because they looked a bit funnily at each other.  _ That’s _ the scary part about them.”

 And Baekhyun could not disagree with that.

 

 A little while later, Joohyun left after telling Baekhyun she would be back the next day - before ordering him to take a shower and take care of whatever injuries he might have. After promising to do so after checking up on the hybrid, Baekhyun said goodbye to Joohyun, and locked all of the locks he had.

 On a normal day, he only used about half of them, but tonight he felt like he wanted to be a bit more cautious. Might have something, or a lot, to do with the trafficking victim currently holed up in his guest room.

 As soon as that thought slipped across Baekhyun’s mind, he felt the vomit rise in the back of his throat. To think that several somebody's saw that as something perfectly okay to take part in… Disgusting. To think there was actually a demand creating a supply for something so morally wrong was mind-blowing to Baekhyun, and he never wanted to understand how it could exist.

 Pushing all of that away, Baekhyun slowly headed over to his guest room, slightly hindered by his growing discomfort. Nearly all of his muscles were starting to protest by now, but he still had some way to go before he could finally relax into his sheet.

 Knocking on the door, Baekhyun waited for for about twenty seconds before he opened the it, not expecting a verbal answer, but still wanting to give the hybrid a chance to get appropriately covered.

 The scene of the hybrid curled into a tight ball, wrapped in the cover and squished as far into the corner that the bed was pushed into both had Baekhyun want to coo and cry. It looked so small and scared, yet cute, and Baekhyun’s heart once more ached. It was almost getting worrying now.

 “Hey, I see you’ve gotten yourself comfortable,” Baekhyun said in a soft voice, noticing the discarded clothes in a pile on the floor as he took a step into the room. “I just wanted to check up on you to make sure you were alright. Joohyun’s gone home, but she said she’ll be back tomorrow. Or today, I guess, it’s getting pretty late… Anyway, I’m heading for a shower and then to sleep, my bedroom is just down the corridor, and I’m a pretty heavy sleeper, so you might have to pinch me a few times to get me to wake up if you need anything, but you’re more than welcome to take whatever you need from my apartment.”

 Silence settled for a while, before the hybrid gave a small nod, and Baekhyun felt a bit of relief at the action for some reason. Maybe he was just happy that the hybrid was still somewhat responding to him.

 Eyeing the clothes on the floor again, Baekhyun moved towards them. “Let me take these and get them into the washing machine, so you can get them back. Comfort in familiarity, right?”

 The hybrid did not respond, but Baekhyun was not waiting for a response either.

 “I don’t think I can do much to save your pants, but the rest should be pretty fine,” Baekhyun said with a gentle smile as he picked the clothes up, trying not to groan at the strain.

 The hybrid just watched him silently, something unidentifiable in it’s eyes, and had Baekhyun not gotten it to answer a few questions before, he would have thought that the hybrid could not understand him.

 Maybe the gang he belonged to had cut out his tongue or something?

 The horrible thought sent disgusted shiver down Baekhyun’s spine, and he quickly pushed it away, not wanting to think about that right now. It could be as simple as the hybrid not  _ wanting _ to talk, and Baekhyun should not make wild assumptions within the first few hours of meeting. You should not judge the book by the cover and all that.

 Instead, Baekhyun moved back to the door, one hand on the handle as he turned back to face the lump on the bed.

 “I’ll leave the lights on in the hallway,” he said, before walking out and closing the door behind him.

 Almost immediately, Baekhyun felt a bit silly for not wishing the hybrid goodnight, but at the same time it felt strange to do so as well. Shrugging to himself, Baekhyun headed towards the laundry room with his little pile, wanting to get that over and done with before he went to the shower.

 Arriving by his machine, Baekhyun began to look through the pile of clothes in his arm, to sort the colors, but as he did a frown quickly formed on his face.

 There was no underwear. Well, that explained why the hybrid had been so reluctant about taking off its pants, and it was very understandable. Baekhyun thought he would have gone with cutting his pants open if he had been in the same situation, too, to be honest.

 Not wanting to think too deeply about that, Baekhyun threw the clothes into the machine and started it, before heading to the shower. One more hurdle left, and then, finally,  _ bed. _

 

 Half an hour later found Baekhyun collapsing against his sheets, eyes immediately falling closed.  _ Everything _ was hurting by now, and he wanted to just die for a few days before dealing with life again. But he knew he would have no such luck, in just a few hours he would have to be up and running again, and it was more than obvious from the way his mind was still sprinting around all that had happened.

 He had a runaway hybrid hiding away in his guest room, scared out of its mind with a leg bearing the evidence of a collision with Baekhyun’s bike, a possible gang looking for it, and a very high probability of an executive order of Baekhyun’s head on a silver platter should they ever find out that not only had he taken the hybrid in, but also injured it.

 People did not like having their playthings marked by others, and dangerous people were more often than not unforgiving.

 Dread was pooling icy hot in Baekhyun’s stomach when the exhaustion knocked him out. How had a normal Thursday night made such an extreme 180 over the course of a split second?


	2. Chapter 2

 Baekhyun woke up bright and early the next day to a sore body. He felt like he had been dragged along asphalt, groaning as he realized that that was  _ exactly _ what he had been only a few hours before.

 Stumbling out of bed, he made his way over to the bathroom, quickly locating some pain medication. Baekhyun knew it would only take the barest of edges off, but at least it would be something.

 Looking in the mirror, he winced as he saw the bruises spreading across his skin. He really went down hard… And he could both see and feel it.

 As Baekhyun headed out of the bathroom and towards the kitchen, he wondered if he should poke his head into the guest room and check up on the hybrid, but he quickly decided against it. He might end up waking it up, and Baekhyun had a feeling it needed all of the sleep it could get.

 After some breakfast (and a cup well-needed coffee), Baekhyun headed down into his garage through the internal staircase. He wanted to take a good look at his bike in good lightning, to make sure his baby was not too banged up, as well as get his bags. He had forgotten about them the night before, and figured he would need at least his phone.

 

 An hour or so later, Baekhyun returned upstairs to find a stressed hybrid hobbling around.

 “Hey, hey, wait, you’re not allowed to walk around on your leg, slow down!” Baekhyun exclaimed, hurrying over to the hybrid to help support it.

 The hybrid spun around so quickly it almost lost its footing, one hand shooting out to use the wall to help stay upright. The relief was obvious on its face, and Baekhyun could not help but wonder if it had been worried after not having been able to find him.

 “Here, come on, let’s get you seated, and then I’ll make you some breakfast, alright?” Baekhyun said with a smile, carefully getting close and giving the hybrid time to pull back, but it allowed Baekhyun to get close enough for Baekhyun to get its arm over his shoulders, and steer it towards the kitchen. “You have any preferences for what you’d like? I don’t know if I’ve got the ingredients, but I’ll try to give you what you want.”

 A frown pulled the hybrid’s eyebrows together as it began to chew on its lower lip, and Baekhyun guessed that it was either trying to decide on something, or not knowing  _ what _ it wanted.

 “How about some pancakes and bacon?” Baekhyun softly suggested after a while, watching as the frown deepened for a moment. “I know I have the ingredients for that?”

 A few seconds went past, before the hybrid’s face relaxed, and it slowly gave a small nod.

 “Okay then, I’ll try not to disappoint with my cooking skills,” Baekhyun joked as he moved towards his fridge.

 Cooking was not his passion, but he was at least decent at it.

 Not so surprisingly, silence reigned as Baekhyun made the food, making a smaller batch for himself as well. His bowl of cereal from before had not been that filling, and his mouth was watering from the enticing smells. Bacon really was amazing…

 Finishing everything up, Baekhyun plated the food, before carrying it over to the table. Putting it down, he quickly fetched some cutlery and glasses, before bringing out both milk and juice and placing it on the table as well. With a small, pleased sigh, Baekhyun sat down, and motioned for the hybrid to eat.

 “Go ahead, eat however much you want,” Baekhyun prompted, nodding towards the drinks. “I don’t know what you want to drink, either, so just take whatever you feel like!”

 The hybrid hesitated for a few seconds, before it picked up the cutlery and started to… Really, the only word that came to Baekhyun’s mind was ‘devour’, steadily eating through the food like a starved man - and with a painful twinge of his heart, Baekhyun realized that the hybrid probably  _ was _ starved.

 “Slow down so you don’t get a tummy ache, the food won’t disappear, and there’s more if you’re still feeling hungry after you’ve eaten all on your plate,” Baekhyun gently said, not wanting to scare the hybrid into thinking that it was not allowed to eat, but not wanting it to be in pain either.

 The hybrid glanced up at Baekhyun for the barest of moments, before it started to actually slow down its eating, even stopping for a moment to pour itself some milk. And Baekhyun could not help but flash a smile, for some reason actually feeling a bit proud.

 They continued to eat in mostly silence, Baekhyun caught up in his own thoughts as the hybrid steadily decimated the food on its plate.

 It was strange, thinking of the hybrid as he was doing. He of course still had no name, but he did not know gender or anything else either, though he could make  _ some _ conclusions based on what he could see. It was almost a bit disconcerting, sitting face to face with a being he knew close to nothing about, and Baekhyun did not like it.

 Baekhyun wanted at least  _ something _ , not this mess of uncertainty.

 “I don’t want to be rude or anything, but I don’t know anything about you, or hybrids in general, and I was just wondering if you’re male like your human features suggests?”

 Wow. Way to go, Byun. Because  _ that _ did not sound strange at all.

 The hybrid almost exhaled the milk it was drinking at Baekhyun’s question, giving a few deep coughs and holding up a hand as Baekhyun was halfway out of his chair to try to help in some way, a soft shade of pink on its cheeks. It gave a curt nod, refusing to meet Baekhyun’s eyes, before getting back to finishing its milk. Baekhyun could not help but beam in happiness at the answer, amazed that he had actually gotten a personal one.

 Just one more thing Baekhyun  _ really _ wanted to know, but he knew this one would take more trust, so he did not expect anything. Better to look at options, then.

 “If you refuse to tell me your name, I’m just going to have to give you a name instead,” Baekhyun said, humming to himself as he tried to come up with something good and easy to remember. “How about… Gangaji? You look like a puppy, so I’ll call you Gangaji!”

 The hybrid gave the barest of pouts, eyebrows furrowed, but did not protest, so Baekhyun decided that Gangaji it would be. Hopefully, he would learn the hybrid’s real name at some point, but for now, the nickname would have to suffice.

 “Well, then, Gangaji, how about some cereal? That’s pretty easy to make and quick,” Baekhyun said as he got up from his seat, and walked over to get a bowl and the cereal out after having gotten a nod of confirmation.

 

 After the breakfast, they relocated to the living room, Baekhyun once more being allowed to help the hybrid. He seemed to be trusted to help with most things, and Baekhyun felt proud of himself.

 Collapsing down next to Gangaji, Baekhyun reached out for the remotes, turning everything on before leaning back.

 “So, what should we watch, Gangaji?” Baekhyun mumbled, eyes scanning the programs currently playing. “How about something nice and light, something we don’t have to pay too much attention to? I don’t know when Joohyun will be here, but I kinda feel like taking a nap before she arrives…”

 Not getting any reply from Gangaji, Baekhyun settled on a show showcasing various houses, all some kind of architectural wonder. Something slightly interesting, but not too much, and without too much noise should you fall asleep. Perfect.

 “If you get cold, just grab a blanket, and if you fall asleep, that’s perfectly fine,” Baekhyun told Gangaji with a smile. “If you’re thirsty or hungry or anything, just let me know and I’ll fix you something. Okay?”

 Gangaji gave a small nod, eyes on the TV, injured leg stretched out in front of him but uninjured one pulled up to his chest. He looked deceptively small like that, and Baekhyun kind of wanted to wrap him up and feed him everything, as well as softly pat his head and sing him to sleep.

 But Baekhyun doubted Gangaji would appreciate that, so he curled his fingers into fists and crossed his arms over his chest, keeping his eyes on TV until they started to droop, getting harder and harder to blink open, until Baekhyun slipped into a slumber.

 

 Baekhyun was brutally awakened from his slumber by his phone, ringing loud and clear and jolting him upright. There was a small noise next to him, and Baekhyun glanced over as he scrambled for his phone, finding Gangaji staring at him with wide eyes, a hand over his heart.

 “Sorry,” Baekhyun mouthed as he answered the call and pressed the cold device against his ear, his own heart racing in his chest.

 “ _ Hey, Baek, I’m on my way over and thought I should give you a head’s up _ ,” came Joohyun’s voice through the line, and Baekhyun sank back against the sofa.

 “Ah, hey, great,” Baekhyun said, hearing himself how toneless his voice was. Could he really be blamed for that, though?

 “ _ Are you okay? _ ” Joohyun asked, voice edging towards worried, and Baekhyun was pretty sure he could hear her car speed up on the other side of the connection.

 “Yeah, I’m fine, I was taking a nap and you scared me awake,” Baekhyun muttered, rubbing at an eye. “Nothing more than that, so slow down, no use in getting pulled over and ticketed.”

 The spinning of the car lowered until Baekhyun could barely even hear it anymore, and he smiled into thin air at that.

 “ _ Sorry about the scare, but at least you’ll be awake when I arrive then _ ,” Joohyun said, ever the optimist. “ _ I’ll be there in five, see you then. _ ”

 “We’ll be here, bye,” Baekhyun said, ending the call and putting his phone down, stretching and letting out a yawn as he turned to Gangaji. “Joohyun is on her way, should be here soon. Did you sleep anything, or just watch the TV?”

 Gangaji pointed towards the TV, eyes obviously being drawn back even as he was looking at Baekhyun, and Baekhyun tutted softly.

 “I shouldn’t have introduced my TV, I’m already giving you bad habits,” Baekhyun said, making sure to smile as well to let Gangaji know it was a joke. “I’m going to get some water, be right back.”

 Three minutes later, before Baekhyun managed to make it back to the living room, there was a knock on the door. Pretty sure it was Joohyun, Baekhyun still made sure to check the peephole, finding Joohyun on the other side, arms crossed and looking around. Not at all suspicious-looking…

 “Hello, and welcome back to my humble abode!” Baekhyun said, giving an overdramatic bow as he opened  for the mildly amused-looking Joohyun. “Gangaji’s in the living room, we’re watching TV.”

 Joohyun, who had stepped inside and pulled the door closed behind her, froze with a hand on the handle as she looked up at Baekhyun in confusion.

 “Gangaji?” she asked, and Baekhyun gave a sheepish smile.

 “Oh, right, heh, you don’t know that… Well, I still haven’t gotten a name for him, and it felt weird calling him ‘hybrid’, so I decided to give him the nickname Gangaji,” Baekhyun explained, ending with a small shrug. “He’s a bit like a puppy, so why not?”

 Joohyun just stared at Baekhyun for a few more seconds, before giving a small smile.

 “Gangaji, well, I guess it does fit… A puppy for a puppy, maybe it was fate that brought him out in front of your bike,” Joohyun mumbled, seemingly mostly to herself, as she took off her shoes and jacket, and headed into the apartment, Baekhyun hot on her heel.

 Gangaji looked up as they entered the living room, but not doing much else, still with the blanket he had gotten himself some time during Baekhyun’s nap across his lap. His ears were twitching though, and Baekhyun had an absent-minded thought about if Gangaji had human ears as well beneath all of that hair. Would it be stranger if he did, or not?

 “So, Gangaji, huh?” Joohyun said, amusement clear in her voice.

 Gangaji threw Baekhyun a deadpan look, probably the least fear-filled expression Baekhyun had seen on his face so far, and it honestly threw Baekhyun off a little. Gangaji then looked back at Joohyun, and gave a slow nod, defeat obvious in the movement.

 “It fits you, though, you really are cute like a puppy,” Joohyun said, smile widening, and light pink appeared on Gangaji’s cheeks. Had Baekhyun not feared the repercussions, he would have cooed out loud. “See, adorable! Now, then, how is your leg feeling? Better, or worse?”

 Gangaji gave a shrug, pulling up the blanket to free his injured leg, and Joohyun quickly moved to take a look. She instructed Baekhyun to get his first aid kit, which he dutifully did, coming back just as Joohyun had uncovered most of Gangaji’s injuries.

 It looked...not too bad, honestly. A bit swollen, a bit red, dried blood here and there, as well as a some minor fresh blood, but all in all pretty okay. As okay as it could be, and better than Baekhyun had thought it looked yesterday and would expect an injury from going head to head (body to leg?) with a motorcycle to look like.

 Joohyun seemed to think the same, as she kept murmuring about how great everything looked as she cleaned and rewrapped the leg, sending Gangaji little smiles here and there. She would probably have been a great nurse, both warm and gentle, as well as stern when needed. Baekhyun had seen Joohyun take on enough rowdy customers to know the last part  _ very _ well. She also made Gangaji feel comfortable, it appeared, which was a pretty neat thing considering the hybrid seemed rather untrusting and careful.

 “What did you do with your hand, Baek?” Joohyun asked out of nowhere, making Baekhyun look down at his hands in confusion as he came back to the present.

 It was not until he saw the bite marks on his left hand that he realized why Joohyun was asking, he himself not having paid attention to it with the rest of his body aching as much as it was.

 “Oh, this? First meeting scares,” Baekhyun answered, glancing over towards Gangaji, who was staring back at him with wide eyes, a sheepish expression on his face. “I surprised Gangaji and he reacted. I’d actually kinda forgotten about it until you asked.”

 Joohyun grabbed Baekhyun’s hand and turned it back and forth, before letting it go.

 “It doesn’t seem bad, but if it starts getting irritated and red you need to go to a hospital, or at least tell me,” Joohyun ordered, and Baekhyun gave a mock salute that had Joohyun roll her eyes. “Do you want me to talk to Yixing, by the way?”

 Baekhyun shot Joohyun a confused look, not understanding why she was bringing up his employer-  _ oh, fuck. _

 “Ah, shit, I’m supposed to work later,” Baekhyun hissed out as he dragged his hands over his face several times, before pulling them through his hair. “I don’t really want to leave Gangaji alone, though…”

 Joohyun gave a shrug. “I can tell him that you were in an accident with the bike, and that you’re resting up. He’ll understand, and it’s not like the rest of us can’t handle things without you.”

 “Yeah, I know, but I don’t like lying to Boss,” Baekhyun mumbled, biting down on his lower lip as he thought about it.

 A warm hand landing on his shoulder brought Baekhyun back to the present, and he turned to find Joohyun looking at him with an almost deadpan expression.

 “Baekhyun, you’ve actually  _ been _ in an accident with your bike, you’re not lying to him,” Joohyun said, making Baekhyun wince as she applied a bit more pressure to one of the bruises she very much knew resided beneath his shirt. “I really wouldn’t recommend you moving too much as you’re healing up, even if you hadn’t had a homeless person living with you right now who needs your help.”

 “But-”

 “ _ Baekhyun. _ I promise we can deal without you for a few days, and you really need to rest. And think about Gangaji, do you want to leave him all alone here?”

 Baekhyun glanced over at the (unsurprisingly) silent hybrid, who was playing with his fingers in his lap, only the tips peeking out from beneath his sweater paws.

 “No, I don’t want to leave him all alone, fine. You’ve convinced me,” Baekhyun said with a tired sigh, dragging a hand over his face yet again, before pouting as Joohyun swatted it away, seeing as it was his slightly more injured hand.

 

 After a quick lunch fixed by Baekhyun, Joohyun left them again, promising Baekhyun she would talk to their boss about him missing work and to not worry about it. She would handle it, he just needed to focus on healing and helping Gangaji, and all would be fine.

 Still feeling a bit uneasy about it, Baekhyun could not do much more than agree and walk Joohyun out, getting a pat on the head and a smile before she disappeared again.

 He and Gangaji ended up on the sofa again, both having been instructed to rest. Baekhyun taught Gangaji how to use the TV, before he slid down into a comfortable position, falling asleep once more about ten minutes after the hybrid had decided on an interior design program. Gangaji’s taste really was a win-win for them both.

 As the evening came around, stretching the darkness out around them, Baekhyun was feeling a bit more alive. He had been more attuned to the night ever since he was a teenager, and his bartender job really did not help to promote a healthy day schedule, but he did not mind that. The night was too beautiful to mind something like that.

 For dinner they ordered food, and Baekhyun got the pleasure of watching Gangaji eat pizza for maybe the first time in his entire life. The way the hybrid’s eyes widened as soon as the first slice touched his tongue almost had Baekhyun in a trembling pile of laughter on the floor, but he managed to hold back. He might have cooed, though, but whatever. It had been a long time coming!

 But throughout it all, Baekhyun could not help but be continuously reminded of the type of life Gangaji had until recently lead, a steady thrum of anger simmering beneath his cheerful surface. He knew it would do no good showing it, so Baekhyun made sure to properly mask it. He could handle his boiling blood for the sake of Gangaji, not wanting to scare the hybrid as he seemed to slowly be coming out of his shell, greatly helped by greasy goodness. Pizza was not one of the best comfort foods in the world for nothing, after all.

 From the way the moon was shining inside of the room, Baekhyun knew that they were creeping into the early morning hours when he decided that it was time for bed. But he allowed himself a few more minutes before speaking up, watching how the muted light beams caught on Gangaji’s grey hair, turning it into molten silver, mixing with the various colors cascading from the TV. Hypnotizing, in a way.

 And then Gangaji magnificently showcased his pointy canines (heh) through an impressive yawn, and Baekhyun turned off the TV and helped Gangaji to the bathroom to wash his teeth, and then to the guest bedroom.

 “Goodnight, Gangaji,” Baekhyun whispered, before he headed to his own bedroom and collapsed into his bed, sleep a bit more elusive tonight.

 

 The next morning came and went, with Baekhyun not emerging from his cocoon until it was more brunch than breakfast, but Gangaji did not seem to mind the late morning as he stumbled out of his room first when Baekhyun had mostly finished cooking the breakfast. Unsurprisingly, they ate mostly in silence, only Baekhyun speaking up now and then, the most he got being nods or shakes. Maybe he could annoy Gangaji enough with his constant blabber that he got the hybrid to speak up just to make Baekhyun shut up? But so far, no such luck.

 After breakfast was over and done with, Baekhyun had a mission. A rather important one, he had to say, more important than he let on when he helped Gangaji from the chair and out of the kitchen.

 “You need to shower, and I’m going to help you, Gangaji,” Baekhyun said, moving them towards the bathroom and not going to take a no for an answer. “Joohyun will kill me if your bandages get wet, so I’m going to make sure they stay as dry as possible, but we can’t keep you out of showers for however long the bandages needs to stay on!”

 In the bathroom, Baekhyun helped Gangaji to sit down on the lid of the toilet, turning to the bathtub to start the water and get it to an okay temperature, before turning back. Gangaji was fidgeting with the hem of his borrowed hoodie, looking very bothered, so Baekhyun tried to reassure him.

 “Hey, hey, we’ll take it slow, okay?” Baekhyun said as he knelt down in front of Gangaji, taking his hands and gently squeezing them. “I understand if you’re not comfortable with undressing in front of me, but you need to shower, and I promise I’ll be as careful as possible, okay? I’m only here to help you in and out of the tub, make sure your bandages don’t get wet, and that you get clean. I don’t even have to help with the washing unless you ask me to, sounds good?”

 Taking a deep breath and exhaling it in a sigh, Gangaji nodded his head, and Baekhyun smiled as he got up on his feet again.

 “I’ll even add bubbles for you, if that makes you feel more comfortable,” Baekhyun said, keeping his tone light, as he started to fix with the bath.

 When Baekhyun turned around, his breath got caught in his throat, all thoughts about making sure Gangaji was as comfortable as possible thrown out through the window as he just  _ stared. _

 Because Gangaji had taken his hoodie off, as well as the t-shirt, leaving him in nothing but his sweatpants. And his entire chest was littered with bruises and scars, all too old to have come from Baekhyun hitting him with his bike. No, this was something else entirely, something coming from the life Gangaji had fled from, and Baekhyun could not tear his eyes away, hot and heavy potent anger filling him.

 The silver collar glinted in the bathroom light, as if in mocking, and Baekhyun wanted to tear it off. How could anyone believe themselves to be so much higher than others that they could  _ enslave _ a person without thinking twice about it? How fucked up was not that?

 Baekhyun had not even realized that he had clenched his hands into shaking fists by his sides, until he noticed how much Gangaji was cowering back, curling in on himself as he tried to cover himself up. Only then did Baekhyun realize what he was doing, and he forced his body to relax as he got down on his knees again.

 “Hey, no, don’t do that, I’m sorry!” Baekhyun whispered, slowly reaching out a hand, stopping when Gangaji made a fearful little noise. “I’m not angry at you, I’m furious at those who did this  _ to _ you, but I promise I’m not angry at you! You don’t deserve to be treated like you obviously have been, no one does, and that makes me really angry, but it’s not your fault!”

 This was one of the reasons for why Baekhyun wanted to make sure that Gangaji showered. Not only because it had to have been some time since last he did, but also because Baekhyun wanted, rather childishly to be honest, to try to wash away at least a part of Gangaji’s past through the shower. It would not erase everything, but it would take some of the grime from the club away at least. Maybe Gangaji did not think about it, did not mind, but it bothered Baekhyun more than he really wanted to admit.

 It took some time, but after a while, Baekhyun managed to calm Gangaji down enough that he did not recoil from Baekhyun, and after a little longer, Baekhyun managed to coax Gangaji out of the rest of his clothes. Baekhyun kept his eyes firmly on Gangaji’s face, not wanting to scare the poor hybrid any more, nor work himself up. He knew that he would explode should he see more injuries, but this was about helping Gangaji, not anything else. Baekhyun’s feelings had to take a backseat as he helped Gangaji down into the tub.

 Sitting sideways, Gangaji had his injured leg thrown over the edge to keep it out of the water, with the bubbles reaching him mid-chest and hiding most of the rest of his body. Gangaji seemed rather pleased with that, even giving the faintest of smiles as his fingers danced through the bubbles.

 It was adorable as fuck, and Baekhyun burned even hotter with anger at whoever thought they had the right to taint that kind of innocence.

 “There’s soap over there, and that bottle is shampoo,” Baekhyun said, pointing towards different bottles as he distracted himself from his murderous thoughts. Gangaji was the focus here, no one else. “Just let me know if you need the showerhead and I’ll get it for you, or if you need help with anything else.”

 Gangaji nodded, reaching for the various bottles, and Baekhyun sat down on the toilet to oversee everything. Letting his eyes wander across the bathroom, he began to softly hum a tune, giving Gangaji as much privacy as possible, but at the same time making sure his bandages did not get wet or anything. Joohyun really would kill him if he let that happen, and Baekhyun was actually rather happy about being alive at the moment.

 The clicking of nails against porcelain brought Baekhyun back to the present, making him look over at Gangaji in question. Looking somewhat embarrassed, Gangaji lifted his hand just barely out of the water to point at the showerhead, and Baekhyun quickly got to his feet.

 Stretching over the tub, Baekhyun took a hold of the requested item and handed it to Gangaji with a smile. “Here you go! Can you reach the knobs, or should I turn it on for you?”

 Looking over at the blender, Gangaji seemed to think for a moment, before he leaned to the side and used his  _ very _ long arm to reach and turn on the water.

 “Wow… You really are a gangly boy, aren’t you, Gangaji?” Baekhyun muttered, staring in amazement. He always seemed to forget how tall Gangaji really was, as Gangaji made himself appear as small as possible most of the time.

 Slowly, Gangaji lowered his arm back into the water, sinking down and hunkering over a little, cheeks turning pinker.

 “Hey, I didn’t mean it as a bad thing,” Baekhyun hurried to say, crouching down in front of the tub, hands curled around the edge on both sides of Gangaji’s legs. “I just tend to forget about it, but being tall isn’t a bad thing. I mean, you can reach things that’s really high up, you can see above people, and the air must be better all the way up there!”

 Something sounding suspiciously like a choked giggle was heard, and Baekhyun almost fell back onto his bum in surprise, but thankfully his grip on the tub managed to keep him upright. And thankfully Gangaji was still looking down, shielding his face from Baekhyun, but at the same time not seeing the pure shock on Baekhyun’s face.

 “Anyway,” Baekhyun began after he had managed to gather himself, clearing his throat before continuing. “You should probably start with your hair now, before the tub overflows.”

 Gangaji’s head flew up, panic written across his features as he checked on the status of the water, relaxing slightly as he realized that it was still okay. But he did move on to wetting his hair and shampooing it, Baekhyun staying crouched in front of him to keep an eye on the bandages.

 He only moved back again when Gangaji was done, and it was time to drain the tub and rinse off, letting Gangaji have the privacy, even though Baekhyun would have to help him up later.

 “Ready?” Baekhyun asked after he heard the tell-tale sign of water being completely drained, Gangaji moving the showerhead across himself before turning the water off.

 After receiving a nod, Baekhyun got up to his feet, placing one towel on the floor in front of the tub, then getting another one to place nearby. He would have used it to cover Gangaji, to help him feel a bit more comfortable, but he knew it would be in vain since the towel would just fall off anyway.

 Keeping his eyes firmly on Gangaji’s face, Baekhyun held out his hands.

 “Put your other leg over the edge as well and take my hands, then I’ll pull you up,” Baekhyun prompted, and Gangaji did as told.

 Bracing his legs against the side of the tub, Baekhyun carefully but forcefully pulled, Gangaji slowly getting upright. When he seemed stable, Baekhyun let go and took a step back, taking the towel to drape over Gangaji’s shoulders. It was the biggest towel Baekhyun could find, but it still only reached about mid-thigh on the tall hybrid.

 “I’ll leave you to get dried off, I need to try to find some more clothes for you,” Baekhyun said with a smile as he moved towards the door. “Hopefully we’re lucky, and you won’t have to try to fit into mine!”

 With that, Baekhyun left the bathroom, leaving the door cracked open as he headed towards the guest room to rummage some more. Jongin always left shit, there  _ had _ to be more clothes.

 After a few minutes, Baekhyun managed to find a complete set of clothes, and headed back to the bathroom. Knocking on the door, he waited for a few seconds before opening, noticing that Gangaji had not moved a single inch. He was not dripping anymore, though, so he seemed to have at least dried off.

 “I found clothes, hurray!” Baekhyun exclaimed, grinning as he waved his catch around. “So, will you let me help you, or are you set on doing it yourself?”

 It took a few moments, but in the end, Gangaji simply said, lifting his injured leg in a silent invitation, and Baekhyun hurried over to help him, a swell of pride in his chest. Some more trust had been earned, even with the bumps in the road, and it made Baekhyun feel incredibly happy.

 Starting with the underwear, Baekhyun helped them up to mid-thigh, where Gangaji took over, and Baekhyun busied himself with the hoodie as he waited.

 “Arms up, please,” Baekhyun said after he noticed Gangaji was done.

 Immediately, Gangaji held his arms up, dropping the towel in the process, and Baekhyun stared at his hands for several blinks, before he burst out laughing.

 “I forgot about your height again, I’m sorry,” Baekhyun managed to get out, trying to quell his laughter with a hand as he noticed Gangaji slowly lowering his arms as his cheeks pinked. “I’ll have to change my statement to ‘arms forwards, please’?”

 Gangaji’s eyes widened a little, but he hurried to put his arms forward so that Baekhyun could roll the sleeves over them, then help tug the rest of the hoodie down as Gangaji once more raised his arms into the air.

 Finished with that, Baekhyun quickly rolled the sweatpants together and placed them on the floor, helping Gangaji step into them so that it was only to pull them up, instead of lifting one leg at a time, and therefore sparing Gangaji’s injured leg.

 “All done!” Baekhyun exclaimed as Gangaji tied the string of the sweatpants to hold them in place. “Sit down on the toilet, and I’ll help you with your hair?”

 With a small nod, Gangaji moved to sit down as Baekhyun fetched the discarded towel. Moving over to Gangaji, he looked down at the towel, and then up at the hybrid’s hair.

 “I know you don’t like having your ears touched, and I’ll try to be as careful as possible, but it’s impossible for me to do this without touching them,” Baekhyun said, kneeling down in front of Gangaji to get on his eye level. “Are you okay with that?”

 Looking straight into Baekhyun’s eyes, seemingly searching for something - and apparently finding it - Gangaji bit down on his lower lip and nodded.

 “I promise I’ll try to touch them as little as possible,” Baekhyun whispered, before he got up again and carefully draped the towel over the hybrid’s head and shoulders.

 Working his way from the back and forwards, Baekhyun made sure to keep check on where the bumps for Gangaji’s ears were through the towel, trying to slide between and around them as he ruffled the hair dry. It did not always work, though, and every time Baekhyun accidentally touched the ears, he could feel the hybrid flinching beneath him.

 It was so different to how a dog reacted to having its ears touched that Baekhyun could not help but wonder about it. Was Gangaji some other kind of animal, or was there something else behind it?

 When he was somewhat sure the hair was as dry as it would get, Baekhyun removed the towel and hung it up to dry, before approaching Gangaji once more.

 “Hey, how about some TV, to make up for this horrible experience?” Baekhyun softly asked, holding his hands out for Gangaji to take. “And I’ll try to make something nice for lunch, and we’ll have pizza for dinner again?”

 Gangaji’s eyes lit up as he took Baekhyun’s hands, interest shining in them so brightly it had Baekhyun smiling as he put Gangaji’s arm over his shoulders, and maneuvered them out of the bathroom and into the living room.

 Leaving Gangaji with the remote, Baekhyun went to clean up the bathroom and throw the clothes into the washing machine, before he joined Gangaji in front of the TV for some lazy midday watching.

 

 By the end of the second house renovating episode, Baekhyun was half asleep and contemplating if it was worth getting out of the sofa to fix some lunch and wake up a little, or better to just lie around and sleep some. He was not really feeling hungry yet, but he should probably try to wake up some… If he just slept the days away he would mess up his sleep schedule, and sure, it might not be considered a good sleep schedule now either, but it was a good one for his work, which was good enough for him.

 Sitting up a bit straighter, Baekhyun looked over at Gangaji, who was completely absorbed in the new episode starting. What he found so enchanting about all of these house shows, Baekhyun had no idea, but neither did he judge it. Everyone had their quirks, particularly pertaining to their prefered shows, and house shows were nowhere near the strangest Baekhyun had heard of.

 The hybrid was looking a lot more alive today than he had that first night, and even more energetic than the day before. Maybe it was the calm environment, maybe it was the shower - Baekhyun had no clue, but he was happy that somehow, he was helping. It felt good seeing Gangaji look closer and closer to healthy, even if his skin was still looking slightly ashen, stretched a bit too tight across bones. That would take longer, and a bit more than a simple shower, to fix though. But there was some more obvious change.

 By now, Gangaji’s hair was dry, looking much paler than it had before his bath. A whitish grey at the tips, slowly turning darker until it was a near black at the roots. The same color pattern crept up his ears - blackish at the base, quickly changing to a grey that was almost white at the tips. Incredibly beautiful coloring, Baekhyun had to say.

 And that was when Baekhyun realized that something seemed to be missing - if it even existed in the first place. He had been so focused on making sure Gangaji was comfortable that he had not even gotten his eyes low enough to see it, it seemed.

 “Hey, Gangaji?” Baekhyun asked, the hybrid merely glancing over at him in question, before turning right back to the TV. “Do you have a tail?”

 Immediately, Gangaji stiffened, and in reaction Baekhyun did as well.

 “I’m sorry! It’s just, you’ve got the ears, a tail as well seems logical, but I haven’t seen one so far,” Baekhyun hurried to explain, hands raised in defense. “I was just wondering, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, my curiosity isn’t worth more than your comfortableness!”

 For a few long seconds, Gangaji just stared at Baekhyun, eyes wide, face pale. But then his ears turned red, cheeks soon following, and then suddenly, Gangaji was moving.

 Opening his mouth to try to apologize again, Baekhyun quickly shut it as Gangaji got up on his knees in the sofa, turning his side to him - the side that had previously been against the armrest, hidden from Baekhyun’s view.

 Squinting, Baekhyun took a closer look, realizing that there was something  _ wrong _ with Gangaji’s leg. It looked too lumpy, too thick - and then it hit him.

 Gangaji’s tail. Tucked into his pant leg.

 “Oh, wow… Isn’t that a bit uncomfortable?” Baekhyun asked, glancing between Gangaji’s face and his hidden tail.

 Gangaji merely shrugged as he sank back into the sofa, and it was now that Baekhyun understood that he was sitting the way he was, most of his weight on one hip, because he was keeping the rest of his weight off of his tail.

 “I don’t mind you having it out, though, and there’s no one else to see you in the apartment,” Baekhyun said, before tilting his head in contemplation. “Wait, do you need a hole in the pants for your tail to fit comfortably?”

 Pursing his lips, cheeks still not back to their normal color, Gangaji gave a tiny nod.

 Well, then.

 “I don’t think we should cut holes into clothes that technically don’t belong to me, even though they’ve been left in my place, but I have another idea,” Baekhyun said as he got out of the sofa and headed for his laptop. “I thought about it before, actually, but this is just more reason to actually do it!”

 Placing his laptop on the coffee table, Baekhyun powered it up and logged in, bringing up the browser before turning back to Gangaji, an excited smile on his lips.

 “So, my thought was that you might not be too attached to the clothes you were wearing as I ran you over, sorry about that again, and you might not be completely comfortable about wearing other people’s clothes, right?” Baekhyun began to explain, not waiting for an answer before he continued. “And now, since you’re free and everything, it’s just fitting that you have your very own clothes, that’s just yours and weren’t given to you by horrible people! And since we live in the magical age of technology, we don’t actually have to  _ go out _ to buy you clothes, we can do it from here, and have them delivered. Great, isn’t it?”

 Gangaji looked slightly confused by Baekhyun’s word vomit, but he did nod at least, so Baekhyun turned back to his laptop.

 “Okay, first we need to decide what kind of things you’d like to wear,” Baekhyun hummed, bringing up a web store with some basic choices. “I scroll, you point?”

 And so, what followed was about an hour of Baekhyun scrolling through different categories, with Gangaji pointing something out whenever he found something to his liking. It ended up being a lot of loose clothing, but also a pair of slightly tighter jeans.

 “Now we just have to figure out what size you are, and then we can order it, and it will arrive in a few days,” Baekhyun said as they looked the chosen things through again, Gangaji removing a few things he apparently stopped liking. “I love living in the twenty-first century, Gangaji… Things are so much easier nowadays!”

 The snort he received in response surprised him, but it also made him laugh. Gangaji had a point, things were simpler in the past, even if some things had become easier now.


	3. Chapter 3

 The next day continued much in the same fashion, apart from a visit from Joohyun after lunch.

 “If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was at least a week-old injury,” Joohyun mumbled as she rewrapped Gangaji’s leg, smiling at the hybrid. “Just a little while longer, and then you won’t have to wear bandages anymore. You can also try to put more weight on it, but as soon as it starts to hurt, you need to rest your leg, okay?”

 Gangaji quickly nodded, a small pleased-looking smile on his lips. Baekhyun kind of understood, though - having to rely on someone else or jump-hobbling around did not sound like the most fun thing to be forced to do. Neither did it  _ look _ like the most fun thing to do, and Baekhyun had seen Gangaji try to move around on his own and become frustrated to also feel relief over the hybrid’s quick recovery.

 “Does hybrids have quicker healing than humans?” Baekhyun asked, thinking about Joohyun’s words. Gangaji’s leg  _ had _ looked a lot better, but Baekhyun was not that well-versed with injuries, especially not as they were healing. Fresh wounds and injuries, sure, but healing ones? Not so much.

 “Yes,” Joohyun answered, fastening the bandage before looking up at Baekhyun. “It’s not an  _ extreme _ difference, but it’s fast enough for there to be a  _ noticeable _ difference between hybrids and humans.”

 “Huh, that’s interesting…,” Baekhyun mumbled, rubbing at his lips with two fingers as he thought about it. “Pretty handy, too, I can imagine.”

 “You can say that, yes,” Joohyun said with a smile. “Who wants to walk around with open, unhealed wounds for a humanly long time? Speaking of, how are you doing?”

 “Hm? Oh, the bruising is starting to break up in some places,” Baekhyun answered, motioning towards the side of his body that had, quite literally, been slammed into the ground. “Gets a bit achy if I put too much pressure on it, but nothing worse than that. I came out of this accident pretty intact, which I have to say is great, considering I’m a puny human with slow healing.”

 A slightly larger smile from Gangaji had Baekhyun grinning, feeling proud of his joke actually being successful. His goal was proper laughter, and maybe after that a word or two. Baekhyun was hoping for that, at least. And, after all, hope was the last thing that left humans.

 “That’s good, because I was thinking that you might want to get back to work soon,” Joohyun said, getting up from the floor and sitting down in a chair as well. “All the pizza and TV watching isn’t good for you, you know.”

 Baekhyun was about to stammer out a question about how Joohyun knew what he and Gangaji had done the last few days, but before he could, Joohyun had already pointed towards the pizza boxes stacked on the counter. Oh, right.

 And sure, it was nice being able to just laze around at home, but Joohyun had a point - as well as the fact that Baekhyun was not used to being home as much as he had lately. He was not bored, far from it, but it felt a bit weird.

 But there was something that stopped Baekhyun from agreeing immediately, and instead glancing over at Gangaji. The hybrid did not look too interested in the conversation, fingertips playing with the hem of his hoodie, but his ears were perked.

 “If he wants to, Gangaji is more than welcome to come along,” Joohyun said, making both Baekhyun and Gangaji look over at her in surprise. “Yixing won’t mind at all, and what safer place than in a bar filled with scary-looking biker people who has a strong dislike for the people after Gangaji? I’m sure they’ll adore you, sweetheart, so if anyone even looks at you in the wrong way, they’ll find themselves out on the street before they can even blink.”

 Baekhyun looked over at Gangaji, finding him chewing on his lower lip. It must be scary, the prospect of going to a completely new place and knowing nothing about it. But then again, Gangaji had done that before. He had escaped from maybe the only place he had ever known, gone out alone into a large city filled with so many dangers. Desperation might have been a large motivator, but it was still incredibly brave.

 “But that’s only if you want to,” Joohyun reassured Gangaji. “If you don’t, which I fully understand, me and Baekhyun can take different shifts, so that you never have to be alone here. It’s all up to you. I need to get going again, but let me know what you decide on?”

 “We will,” Baekhyun promised, getting up to follow Joohyun over to the door, seeing her out before returning to the kitchen.

 Gangaji had gone back to playing with the hem of the hoodie, eyebrows furrowed in what seemed like contemplation.

 “You don’t have to decide in this very moment,” Baekhyun mumbled after a few minutes of silence. “I wasn’t planning on today either way, and I’ll stay at home until you’ve come to a decision. So stop frowning so hard, or you’ll get wrinkles!”

 Gangaji looked up at Baekhyun, frown deepening, and Baekhyun wondered if he had crossed a line. Before he had the chance to apologize, though, Gangaji had scooted closer and taken ahold of Baekhyun’s shirt, lifting it up and exposing Baekhyun’s abdomen.

 “Hey, what-” Baekhyun exclaimed, shutting up as he felt cool fingers against his side. Looking down in surprise, Baekhyun realized that Gangaji was tracing over the bruises left from the accident. So softly, but Baekhyun could still feel how his fingers were trembling.

 Looking up again, Baekhyun noticed the so incredibly sad expression on Gangaji’s face. Eyebrows pulled together and up, the corners of his slightly pursed lips pulled down, and there was something - a mix of remorse and something else - in the depths of his blue eyes.

 “I-I’m s-sorry,” Gangaji whispered, the sound barely above a breath and so quiet that Baekhyun wondered if he had imagined it. But no, Gangaji had finally said something, voice scratchy from what Baekhyun truly hoped was disuse.

 Shocked still, it took Baekhyun a second or two to restart, having to shake his head to clear it. Taking a hold of the fingers against his skin, Baekhyun pulled Gangaji’s hand away, holding on to it as he smiled as softly and reassuringly as he could.

 “You don’t have to apologize, bruising is not something I’m unused to, and I’ve had worse than this,” Baekhyun whispered, softly tightening his grip on Gangaji’s hand. “It was an accident, and not your fault. But thank you for apologizing, it’s appreciated even if there was no need for it.”

 Slowly, Gangaji nodded, eyes still on Baekhyun’s unnaturally colored skin, before he let go of Baekhyun’s shirt, the fabric dropping down to cover him up again.

 “What do you say, how about watching some TV?” Baekhyun suggested, and Gangaji nodded in agreement. “Do you think you can walk on your own?”

 With the help of Baekhyun, Gangaji stood up, trying out his injured leg. It seemed pretty okay, Gangaji being able to walk somewhat properly on it - but Baekhyun still walked next to him, supporting him enough to not put too much weight on the leg, until they reached the sofa to sit down.

 And as per usual, they ended up watching a show that Gangaji decided on, but as Baekhyun was quickly becoming obsessed with them as well, he did not mind in the least.

 

 It was as evening was nearing that Baekhyun decided he wanted to do something else. He had honestly been neglecting her quite a bit, due to everything that had happened, but now he felt confident and  _ comfortable _ with leaving Gangaji alone, should the hybrid not want to join him.

 “Hey, Gangaji,” Baekhyun spoke up after having made his decision, making the hybrid look over at him. “I was thinking about going downstairs to fix a bit with my bike. You can come along if you want to, but I don’t think it’ll be too exciting. The TV is probably a lot better, but if you grow bored with that, I’ll leave the door open and you can just come down?”

 Mouth forming a tiny ‘o’, Gangaji nodded, and Baekhyun smiled and patted his head - still keeping clear from the large ears - before heading over to the door leading down into his garage.

 It was familiar, the trek down, and he barely even needed the light to see where he was going. It was muscle memory by now, walking the steps going lower and lower until touching down on the cement floor. And it was a habit, walking over to his motorcycle and patting her saddle twice in greeting, before moving over towards his workbench, fingers trailing across memorized tools.

 He had always been complimented for his pretty fingers, long and slim, and apparently too beautiful to be wasted on messing with mechanical stuff. But Baekhyun honestly found them the prettiest when stained by oil and grease, just having finished putting something together and making it work.

 Sighing softly in content, always feeling so relaxed inside of his little haven, Baekhyun then rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.

 

 Baekhyun almost jerked in surprise at the sound of a foot hitting a step, quickly looking over towards the staircase. Gangaji was climbing down it, looking around in curiosity, and he was far enough down that Baekhyun  _ should _ have heard him way earlier.

 “Hey, the TV couldn’t hold your interest any longer?” Baekhyun called out, sitting up a bit straighter as he watched Gangaji make it down to the bottom, somewhat limping, but much better than he had managed - or  _ dared _ \- on his own before. “There’s a chair over there that you can sit on, just pull it over.”

 Carefully, as if handling something very valuable and very fragile, Gangaji did as told, until he was sitting by the front tire of the bike, looking over at Baekhyun in interest.

 “Really, what I said before is true, the TV is probably much more interesting than watching me work,” Baekhyun said with a chuckle, going back to focusing on his bike again. “I’ve been known to accidentally ignore people while working. Apparently they thought I loved my baby more than them, not my fault making sure this beauty won’t suddenly go up in flames with me on it is more interesting than a person that  _ probably _ won’t cause me major bodily harm.”

 Gangaji snorted at that, making Baekhyun grin at his bike.

 “I  _ would _ ask you to talk to me as I’m working, but we both know I’m the blabbermouth in this relationship, so I guess I’ll just have to try to fill the role,” Baekhyun said with a dramatic sigh, before tilting his head slightly. “Oh, I just had an idea. How about combining some educational talk with my work? I can teach you a few things about a motorcycle at the same time as I’m working, doesn’t that sound good?”

 To his  _ utter _ surprise, almost making Baekhyun topple over in shock - Gangaji gave a very firm nod. As if he  _ really _ wanted to learn, and really, how could Baekhyun  _ not _ take this chance?

 “Well, then, sweetheart, roll up closer, and I’ll show you everything I know,” Baekhyun said with a cheesy grin, diving straight into things as Gangaji moved closer.

 

 Baekhyun had to say, he had not had that fun while working on his bike in a really long time. Most of the time, he was pretty calm as he did, soothed by the familiarity of it all, but today it was different. Today he had fun,  _ real _ fun, as he went through various parts and what they did, as well as narrated what he was working on. And even though Gangaji did not really speak, it felt as if they were communicating really well, Baekhyun continuously learning how to interpret the quiet hybrid.

 As Baekhyun’s talking started to lull, not having much more to say as he worked on things he had already talked about, Gangaji was the one to start the conversation back up.

 Pointing towards the bike, he held up a thumb, before pointing it down, a questioning tilt to his head, and Baekhyun only needed half a second to understand what the hybrid was silently asking.

 “She’s fine, just a bit scraped up, nothing worse than that,” Baekhyun said, patting the saddle. “She probably came out of it better than any of us, but she’s one hell of a girl, so I’m not surprised.”

 WIth a sad expression on his face, an expression that was half faked, Gangaji reached out and patted the handlebar of the motorcycle, sighing a little, and Baekhyun could not help but burst out laughing at the obviously played up silent apology.

 “She’s very thankful for your apology, makes her feel a lot better,” Baekhyun joked, getting a shy grin in return. “She also wants to apologize for, you know, slamming into you with all of her nearly 200 kilograms, but she’s happy seeing you make progress and get better!”

 The grin widened a little as one of Gangaji’s hands curled around the handlebar, and Baekhyun was happy to see that the hybrid did not seem too scared by the bike - even though said bike had hit him pretty hard. Sure, said bike was also currently not moving, not even turned on and making all of her lovely noise, but still. Not being scared of the stationary and silent bike was a good sign!

 Silence settled over the garage, Baekhyun every now and then speaking up, either to say a random thought, or point something out to Gangaji. It continued like that for a long time, Baekhyun as per usual losing track of time, until a rather loud sound was heard.

 Head snapping up, Baekhyun looked over at Gangaji with wide eyes, wondering what the hell that was. Red was blooming across Gangaji’s neck, slowly creeping up his face - and then the sound was heard again, and Gangaji’s entire face exploded with red.

 And Baekhyun finally made the connection. Just barely holding himself from breaking out into a loud guffaw.

 “Are you hungry?” Baekhyun managed to ask, in between quiet giggles and snorts as he tried his  _ damndest _ to hold back.

 Glaring a little, still with his entire face colored red, Gangaji gave one sharp nod.

 “Considering how upset your stomach seemed, I think it’s better we get it some food as soon as possible,” Baekhyun joked, biting down on his lower lip as Gangaji’s glare softened into a pout. It was an angry pout, but a pout nevertheless. “I’m sorry, I’ll stop teasing you now, let’s go.”

 Putting all of his tools away, Baekhyun helped Gangaji up from the chair, and over towards the staircase. Feeling a bit bad about almost laughing, Baekhyun allowed Gangaji to pick their food - and of course it ended up being pizza.

 After ordering the pizza, Baekhyun dragged Gangaji over to the sofa, to try to placate the still upset hybrid by showing him a new thing.

 “Okay, so,” Baekhyun said, holding up his phone and swiping across the screen a few times, just because. “Just in case you get bored with things again, but don’t want to have to deal with my talkative ass, let me show you something else you can do. This is my phone, obviously, and it contains a few great things. Like games.”

 Clicking into the folder containing said games, Baekhyun quickly scrolled through them (yes, he had a lot), before clicking on one of them.

 “This one is one of my favorites, but it’s also a real pain to play,” Baekhyun said with a chuckle, gripping the phone with both hands as he started a new game. “You need to fly the bird through the obstacles, making him fly higher by tapping the screen, or lower by not doing anything. It might seem easy, but it’s  _ the worst thing ever _ , and I have no idea how I still haven’t thrown my phone into a wall in frustration!”

 Of course, just as he said that, Baekhyun just had to tap the screen a bit too hard a bit too late - watching as his bird slammed into a pipe.

 “Ah, fuck, of course!” Baekhyun exclaimed, still chuckling because it was so typical. “Anyway, if you want to get really frustrated and angry, this is the game for you! Moving on.”

 Closing the app, Baekhyun then opened another one.

 “In this one, instead of keeping the bird from hitting things, you’re trying to  _ make _ it hit things,” Baekhyun explained, once more starting a new game to show Gangaji. “We don’t like the pigs in this game, so we’re trying to make them fall. By shooting birds at them from a slingshot. I know, it’s a great yet ridiculous concept.”

 Baekhyun went through a few stages, before exiting that game as well, and moving on.

 “This one doesn’t have any birds,” Baekhyun began as he opened the next one, quickly clicking past the start screen. “It’s still a bit about destruction, though, you need to get three or more candies in a row and clear them out. Sometimes only for points, sometimes to clear away stuff, and sometimes to make stuff fall down. It’s pretty easy to learn, pretty  _ intuitive _ or whatever. I’m not good with big words, so let’s move on!”

 Looking through his folder, Baekhyun debated a bit about which to show next, because he wanted to show some variation. Tilting his head a little, he clicked on another one, one that was  _ pretty _ different from the previous ones.

 “Okay, so this one is very different, but fun in it’s own way,” Baekhyun said as the game started. “In this one, you’re supposed to control a person. You’re basically playing god, deciding how they look, how their place look, what they do… More or less everything. It’s originally a computer game that they remade into a mobile game, and I have to say that the original is better… I wonder if my laptop can run it?”

 Baekhyun showed Gangaji some more of the game, moving his character around and realizing just  _ how _ much he had neglected it.

 “You know what, I barely even play this anymore, and I’m not sure you can make multiple characters, so if you want to play it we’ll just delete this one and you can make your own,” Baekhyun said with a chuckle, trying to remember what he had planned for the poor guy running around on his screen.

 Nothing at all came to mind, the more than surely grandiose plans he had made completely wiped out of his mind. Not that unusual, to be honest, but still!

 Going through the few other more interesting games in the folder and showing them off, then letting Gangaji point out the ones he found the most interesting, Baekhyun showed Gangaji how to unlock the phone and handle it, as well as how to make calls. He made sure to put Joohyun on speed dial and show Gangaji how to access that, so that if need be, he would be able to contact someone.

 The sound of the doorbell ringing had both Baekhyun and Gangaji jumping in surprise, looking at each other with wide eyes, and Baekhyun could not help but laugh a little.

 “I guess we got a bit too deep into the phone,” he said, and Gangaji gave a slow nod, seemingly still trying to calm down. “That should be the pizza, yay, food!”

 Getting out of the sofa, Baekhyun headed over towards the door, as per usual checking before opening it. After paying and accepting the large box, Baekhyun closed the door and locked it, before heading over to the kitchen - finding Gangaji moving around, lifting down plates.

 “Look at you, all domestic and stuff!” Baekhyun cooed, setting the pizza box down on the counter and accepting the plates that Gangaji held out for him.

 The hybrid blushed faintly, turning away with a soft grumble to fetch the scissor, and Baekhyun was somewhat amazed that the hybrid actually knew where things were. Apparently, Gangaji had been paying a lot more attention that Baekhyun had thought he would.

 With the pizza cut up and transferred to plates, and drinks poured, Gangaji led the way back to the living room and the sofa. Sitting down, they quickly found an interesting show, and silence settled as they began to eat.

 Baekhyun had not realized how hungry he actually was, but now, with the smell of the food and the taste of it as he took the first bite, he quickly came to the conclusion that he was starving. Had he been alone, he would for sure have stuffed his face, but his mother had not raised him to forego table manner when in the company of someone!

 So Baekhyun kept it slow, properly chewing his food before swallowing, taking small sips every now and then - which meant that by the time Gangaji got up to get some more pizza, Baekhyun was not even done with his first serving.

 He was okay with that, though, enjoying seeing the hybrid eat to his heart’s content. He needed to put on some weight, and maybe pizza was not the best way to do that, but Baekhyun thought he balanced it out pretty well with healthier breakfasts and lunches. Hopefully.

 It was after Baekhyun had finished his food, and Gangaji was halfway through his second serving, that the hybrid suddenly spoke up.

 “Tomorrow,” Gangaji whispered, and Baekhyun looked over at him in confusion.

 “Tomorrow?” he echoed, and Gangaji nodded.

 “Work,” Gangaji clarified, and now Baekhyun was shocked.

 “You think I should work tomorrow?” Baekhyun asked, getting a nod in answer. “Are you sure?” Another nod. “Are you coming with me?” A third nod. “For real?”

 Pursing his lips, apparently having run out of patience, Gangaji just stared at Baekhyun, who sank back a little, trying to hold back a smile.

 “Okay, okay, fine, sheesh! Sorry for wanting to make sure…,” Baekhyun mumbled, biting down on his lower lip as Gangaji gave a pleased smile, and got back to his food.

 Adorable, truly adorable.

 But now Baekhyun had to let Joohyun know, and also ask if he could borrow her car, to make things a bit easier, so he could not coo over Gangaji for much longer. Even if he wanted to coo over the hybrid for a lifetime, because he was just too cute. Should be illegal, really.

 

 “So, you’re still sure you want to come with me to the bar tomorrow night?” Baekhyun asked, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the doorway of the bathroom, watching as Gangaji brushed his teeth.

 Rather patiently, Gangaji nodded his head, not even looking at Baekhyun.

 “If you don’t want to anymore, just let me know,” Baekhyun said, and now he got a glance. “For real, I won’t be mad or upset or anything. I want you to be comfortable, so please don’t strain yourself, thinking you  _ need _ to do this to make me happy or anything like that. I’ll be the happiest if you’re happy, okay?”

 Gangaji stared at Baekhyun for a few long seconds, the toothbrush hanging out of the corner of his mouth making him look frankly ridiculous, but Baekhyun was not laughing. There was something about the serious expression on the hybrid’s face that had Baekhyun ignore his cute visuals, as he waited for whatever Gangaji might do or say.

 What Baekhyun had not expected, though, was for Gangaji to hold up a hand, four out of five fingers forming a fist, the last one - his little finger - being stretched into the air.

 A pinky promise.

 Grinning, Baekhyun stepped forwards, hooking his own pinky with Gangaji’s, gently tugging on it.

 “This is a binding promise, so now you  _ have _ to tell me if anything makes you uncomfortable,” Baekhyun almost giggled, but the small smile and nod he received was amazing.

 He felt as if they were making continuous progress, new things happening all the time, and it felt glorious. Baekhyun had never wanted to help anyone so badly before in his entire life, and to have that help accepted, and to have that person seemingly appreciating it as well? What a great feeling! No wonder some people became obsessed with helping others, even at the expense of themselves - though that was not a place Baekhyun wanted to reach. He was more than fine with his normal-leveled helping.

 “Okay, then, finish up or scoot over, I need to get rid of this horrible pizza breath too,” Baekhyun said as they unhooked their fingers, softly bumping his hip into Gangaji’s hip. Or thigh, rather. The hybrid really was tall…

 Grumbling a little around his toothbrush, Gangaji did as told, allowing Baekhyun access to the sink and his own toothbrush, and together they made themselves ready for bed.


	4. Chapter 4

 “Hey, look what I found!” Baekhyun exclaimed, a big smile on his lips as he held up the large packet.

 Looking up from the game he was playing on Baekhyun’s phone, Gangaji raised both eyebrows in an obvious silent question, moving a little to make more space as Baekhyun came over and sat down next to him.

 “It’s the clothes that we ordered for you,” Baekhyun said, chuckling a little. “The shipping was faster than I expected it to be, but hey, I’m not complaining about that! You want to open it?”

 Eyes widening a little, Gangaji locked and put the phone on the coffee table, before accepting the package from Baekhyun. He looked somewhat excited yet apprehensive, and Baekhyun had one of those thoughts again - about if this maybe was the first time Gangaji did this.

 Was this the first time the hybrid got a package and was allowed to open it? Or was this the first time he got a package to open that contained nothing but innocent clothing picked out by himself? Either way, it was somewhat tragic, and Baekhyun shook those thoughts and feelings away to focus on the present instead, and Gangaji’s reactions.

 He was careful with the thick plastic bag as he opened it, gently undoing the two parts sealed together, and it was both surprising and not. Of course Gangaji was careful with opening a package - but at the same time, it felt as if he should be one of those people who tore through it excitedly.

 After he had managed to open the bag, Gangaji peeked inside for a few seconds, before he started to pull pieces out. They were all sealed inside of smaller plastic bags, and he piled them in the sofa between himself and Baekhyun, folding and putting the larger bag away, before taking the first item and opening its bag.

 Baekhyun was almost frustrated by how long it was taking, so excited that he was almost unable to sit still, but he held on to his patience with both hands because this wasn’t about him. It was about Gangaji and his new clothes, and Baekhyun would  _ not _ ruin that in any way.

 Finally, a pair of black sweatpants were unveiled, and Gangaji’s lips formed around a silent ‘oh’ that pleased Baekhyun quite a lot. Looking them over, turning them back and forth, Gangaji then folded the sweatpants back up, put them on the coffee table next to the large plastic bag, and picked up a new item. Baekhyun almost had to press a hand over his mouth to stop himself from chortling - or cooing.

 And like so it continued; Gangaji carefully opening each and every bag, bringing the pieces of clothing out and looking them over, before folding them and putting them away, and then opening the next one.

 Even if the careful handling made the process take a bit longer, it still did not take long before each and every piece had been revealed, and they were left with a neatly folded pile of clothes, and a neatly folded piece of plastic bags - the latter amusing Baekhyun to no end.

 “Are they to your liking?” Baekhyun asked with a crooked smile, and Gangaji quickly nodded, pulling the hoodie a bit closer to himself in a way that made Baekhyun suspect that he actually was telling the truth. Like the hybrid did not want to release the hoodie, that it was his and nobody else’s. “You want to wear them tonight then?”

 Burrowing his face into the hoodie, Gangaji nodded, this time a bit slower, and it was adorable.

 “Then I suggest we go wash what you want to wear, to make sure they’re properly clean,” Baekhyun said, standing up and motioning towards the pile. “Pick out what you want.”

 Unlike the opening of the package, Gangaji took nearly no time at all in picking out clothes, standing up after only about half a minute, ready to follow Baekhyun. Not feeling like he should comment on it, because it was not as if it was a bad thing that Gangaji was so quick on making a decision, Baekhyun instead lead the hybrid over to the laundry room to show him how to operate Baekhyun’s washing machine.

 

 A few hours later, after some TV watching and a move of clothes from washing machine to dryer, Baekhyun decided that it is time to start to get ready. He still needed to shower, and find clothes to wear… The thought had him groaning, making Gangaji look over at him in question.

 “Ah, it’s nothing, just thinking about clothes,” Baekhyun answered with a sigh, dragging a hand over his face. “Since we’re going by car, I don’t need to think about the normal gear I use, which opens up for completely new challenges… I’m not good at picking out clothes, honestly. Too many choices. Anyway, nevermind, you want to try on your new clothes? So you actually know they fit properly? We should’ve done that before washing them, but, uh, didn’t think about that.”

 Smiling softly, Gangaji nodded, standing up and moving towards the laundry room.

 “You can handle it yourself, right?” Baekhyun called out, getting a nod in return. “I’ll stay here, then, come out and show me when you’re ready!”

 Disappearing for a moment, Gangaji showed up, just to disappear again. Pulling the door partially closed, he left a slight opening, and that surprised Baekhyun. Gangaji was always so concerned about never showing too much, like when Baekhyun helped him shower, but now he left the door open?

 Major progress in the trust department!

 It did not take more than a few minutes before Gangaji was done and reappeared, walking back to the living room. Standing up, Baekhyun approached the hybrid, critically looking over the clothes.

 “They seem to fit pretty well, how do they feel? Good?” Baekhyun asked, looking up at Gangaji’s face.

 Nodding, Gangaji gave a small smile, and it looked rather pleased - which in turn made Baekhyun feel rather pleased. It was nice, knowing that this small gift made Gangaji happy. That Baekhyun could in some way contribute to the hybrid’s happiness.

 A soft glinting caught Baekhyun’s eye, though, and made itself reminded in a way that Baekhyun did not quite appreciate. Gangaji was different from the first time they met, for sure, but there were still traces of his past life left, and even if Baekhyun could not erase them all,  _ this _ one he could do something about.

 “How about taking this collar off, huh?” Baekhyun said, fingertips softly tapping the skin-warmed metal. “I can’t imagine how it must feel to have to wear it and be reminded of everything every day-”

 Baekhyun had not expected for Gangaji to place his hand protectively over the collar and take a step back whilst shaking his head, but that was exactly what happened. He actually looked scared, and Baekhyun quickly backtracked, even though he did not quite understand what was going on.

 “Or not, okay, we don’t have to remove it,” Baekhyun answered, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “You decide, it’s all up to you, and if you don’t want to, then we won’t, I promise. It’s your choice, okay?”

 Gangaji stared at Baekhyun for a few seconds, before he relaxed and nodded, letting his hand fall away from his throat, seemingly satisfied with Baekhyun’s surrender.

 “ _ But _ , I think we should cover it up before going outside,” Baekhyun mumbled, chewing on his lower lip and eyes glued to the collar as he sunk into his thoughts. “We don’t want people staring or making unnecessary comments, nope… Wait, I might have the perfect thing! Come along, my dear Gangaji!”

 Setting off towards his bedroom, Baekhyun did not even know if Gangaji was following him, but he hoped he would. Heading straight for the wardrobe containing his lesser-used clothes, Baekhyun threw open the door to the tiny storage room and scanned its content. He had no idea if what he was looking for even was there, or if it might have gotten thrown out, but he hoped it was there somewhere. Somewhere in the mess… He really should clean it out soon.

 “Okay, watch my back, I’m going in!” Baekhyun called out, seeing from the corner of his eye how Gangaji came to a stop slightly to the side and behind him, before turning his full focus to the wardrobe again.

 It took some digging, and Baekhyun was on his knees looking through various boxes, when he finally found what he was looking for.

 “Look here, I found it!” Baekhyun happily exclaimed, holding out a square piece of fabric. “Oh, what a testament of my emo days… I really was such a mainstream kid, huh.”

 Gangaji was looking rather unimpressed as Baekhyun got up on his feet again and walked over, shaking the fabric to get whatever collected dust there might be out of it.

 “I don’t remember the proper word for it, I think we just called it ‘desert scarf’, but it was a big accessory during my teenage years,” Baekhyun said, smiling a little as he remembered his dramatic teenage years. Not that they had been exceptionally dramatic, but they had  _ felt _ rather dramatic back then. Too many feelings and too much hormones. “It will hide the collar, as well as cover the lower part of your face if you want it to. Great for hiding in, I swear, and I would know considering how painfully of an awkward and shy child I was.”

 Connecting two opposite corners, Baekhyun quickly made a triangle from the scarf, lifting his leg and placing the folded scarf on it to align everything properly. When done, he grabbed it by the outer edges and held it up towards Gangaji.

 “Allow me?” Baekhyun asked, and Gangaji nodded and bent forwards slightly to make reaching easier for Baekhyun. “Hey, I’m not  _ that _ short!”

 All Baekhyun received was a snort, and he grumbled playfully under his breath as he wrapped the fabric around Gangaji’s neck. Looking over it and adjusting it a bit, Baekhyun then motioned for Gaganji to stand up properly again.

 “Look at you, just a tad of eyeliner and some black nail polish, and you’d fit right into a group of mid-2000’s teenagers,” Baekhyun joked, grinning widely. “You can adjust how tight or loose you want it yourself, and you can pull the edge up to cover part of your face too.”

 Glancing down, Gangaji took ahold of the edge just below his chin, and pulling a little on it, he soon had it covering his lips. Seemingly enjoying this, it did not take long before he had burrowed his nose down into the fabric as well, looking incredibly adorable as he lowered his arms, sleeves falling down to cover most of his hands, until only his fingertips were visible.

 “Ah, perfect, you’ll have everyone wrapped around your little finger in no time at all,” Baekhyun wistfully sighed, a smile playing on his lips. “How do you want to do with your ears? Cover, or not? I still have the beanie you wore when we first met, as well as several ones crammed into a basket out in the hallway.”

 Lifting a hand, Gangaji fiddled a little with the tip of one of his ears, obviously thinking. Not saying anything, he then turned and walked out of the room, Baekhyun following along. He was getting better at interpreting Gangaji by now, understanding that it was not the hybrid running away, but rather moving somewhere else and that Baekhyun should follow.

 Surely enough, they ended up in the hallway, Gangaji turning to look at Baekhyun in question. Smiling, Baekhyun moved forwards to pull out the basket containing most of his headwear - at least the ones that could fit into the basket. His helmets did not count, and they were mostly kept in his garage anyway.

 Placing the basket on the floor, Baekhyun sat down next to it, starting to sort through it as Gangaji sat down as well.

 “Okay, so we have several different models and colors,” Baekhyun said, finding things he had forgotten he even had. “By the way, does it hurt covering them like that? I mean, they’re pulled back, to me it seems like it would hurt?”

 Gangaji quickly shook his head, before stopping and humming softly in thought. The sound almost threw Baekhyun off, since he had gotten rather used to not hearing more than snorts from Gangaji, but at the same time it was a very nice change. Gangaji had a rather soothing voice, towards the deeper end of the spectrum from what Baekhyun had been able to discern so far.

 “Sore,” Gangaji whispered, and Baekhyun tilted his head.

 “Sore? Like in it gets a bit sore after some time?” Baekhyun asked, getting a nod in answer. “Okay, as long as it’s not hurting, and you take some breaks without the hat, it’s fine. I don’t want you hurting, okay?”

 Gangaji nodded, reaching out to pick up some of the various beanies Baekhyun had pulled out.

 “Good,” Baekhyun said, before moving to stand up. “You can figure this out yourself, you’re a big boy after all, so I’ll head into the shower. You know how the TV works, and my phone is in my bedroom if you get bored.”

 Not looking up from the stuff in front of him, Gangaji simply held up a hand to shoo Baekhyun away.

 “Okay, fine, I’m going,” Baekhyun exaggeratedly sighed, rolling his eyes before he walked over to the bathroom. “Hey, you know that you can just knock on the door if you need to, no matter what, and I’ll be out as quickly as possible, right?”

 Once more, Gangaji shooed at Baekhyun, and with one last smile, Baekhyun closed himself into the bathroom.

 If anyone asked, Baekhyun would deny it, but he did try his best to wash as quickly yet thoroughly as possible. He knew that Gangaji would be fine on his own, but it was just… He did not know how to explain it, he was just worried, no matter how safe he knew Gangaji was.

 So if Baekhyun stepped out of the shower way earlier than he normally did (Baekhyun loved just standing beneath the warm water, and absolutely hated having to get out into the colder bathroom), it was not as if anyone would know anyway. Sure, Gangaji would, but it was not as if he knew Baekhyun’s showering habits anyway.

 Wrapping a towel around his hips, Baekhyun picked up his discarded clothes before heading out of the bathroom. He could not hear the TV, so he guessed Gangaji was not watching that, having to force down the panic of not knowing where the hybrid was.

 Throwing his dirty clothes towards the laundry room to take care of later, Baekhyun headed into his bedroom. It was easier to look for someone when not dressed in only a towel, after all, and there was a possibility that Gangaji was in Baekhyun’s bedroom anyway.

 And sure enough, lying on his side, curled up somewhat, was Gangaji. Balanced against the bed by one hand was Baekhyun’s phone, and the sound coming from it let Baekhyun know that he was playing a game.

 “How’s it going? Have you beaten my highscore yet?” Baekhyun playfully asked, feeling his heart start to slow down to a more normal rhythm again.

 Gangaji merely grunted, which let Baekhyun know that  _ no _ , he had yet to beat Baekhyun’s record.

 “Careful so you don’t pop a vein,” Baekhyun sing-songed, turning to his wardrobe to get dressed.

 It was not the first time Baekhyun had gotten dressed with someone else in the room as well, far from it, but he still felt somewhat shy doing so with Gangaji lying on his bed. It was stupid, really, but Baekhyun hurried to get his underwear on while still covered by the towel, letting it drop first when he had a pair of jeans in his hand, ready to be pulled on.

 Jumping to get them on faster, Baekhyun softly hissed as they dragged a little against his bruised hip. Had he already gained some weight from the pizza, or had the jeans shrunk last time he washed them? He was pretty sure they had not been so fitted last time he had worn them…

 Shoving a hand down his pants to fix his underwear, Baekhyun glanced over his shoulder, finding Gangaji staring at him.

 “What?” Baekhyun asked, not allowing the blush to creep up his cheeks.

 Gangaji just sighed, before motioning towards his side, and then towards Baekhyun.

 Looking down, Baekhyun realized that it was the bruising that was once more bothering the hybrid.

 “Gangaji, I swear it’s nothing to worry about,” Baekhyun said, fixing the other side before doing up the zipper and button. “At most it’s a bit sore. If you can handle a beanie for a while, I can handle a pair of jeans. Especially since I can’t really go out without a pair of pants…”

 A low chuckle was heard, and looking over, Baekhyun found Gangaji smiling, nodding his head in acknowledgement of Baekhyun’s point.

 “Exactly, so stop worrying,” Baekhyun said as he got back to looking through his wardrobe. He needed a shirt, but preferably something that would cover most of his upper arm… Bruises on a biker was not something unusual, but that did not mean that Baekhyun wanted everyone to point it out either. Because that was what they would do, either to ask what had happened, or joke about him not being able to handle his bike, which Baekhyun did not feel like dealing with. Plus that it might make Gangaji feel worse about the accident, considering - no matter what Baekhyun said - that he was the one that ran out into the street and therefore set in motion the accident. “It’s fine, more than fine, and I’ve worn tighter clothes while working with injuries worse than this. Jeans are at least a  _ bit _ more stretchy than leather…”

 Indecision reared its ugly head, and Baekhyun groaned as he dragged a hand through his wet hair, having to undo some minor tangles on the way. Pulling out various options, Baekhyun then brought them with him to the bed, dumping them in front of Gangaji.

 “I need help,” Baekhyun sighed, sorting through the pieces of cloth as Gangaji sat upright, putting away the phone (for now). “I don’t know which shirt to wear. I’m not used to dressing for the reason to, basically, look good… Which shirt do you think would look the best?”

 Looking through the various options, Gangaji then decided on a blue silk shirt, and a white, thin-knitted sweater. Two great options, Baekhyun had to agree - but he still needed to choose between them.

 “I’ll try them on, and then you can decide which looks the best on?” Baekhyun suggested, reaching for the white sweater after Gangaji had nodded his agreement.

 The sweater was looked over for a few moments, before Baekhyun was ordered (through gestures) to try the silk shirt on. He had barely buttoned half of it when Gangaji snatched the sweater from where Baekhyun had placed it, and put it back into the pile of discarded options.

 “This one?” Baekhyun asked with a smile, getting a firm nod in return. “A good choice, thank you!”

 Heading back to his wardrobe, Baekhyun pulled out a pair of socks, before once more heading back to the bathroom. He had a face and some hair to take care of, even if the clothes were dealt with, which created a new set of decisions to make and despair over.

 Thinking as he was moisturizing, he decided to keep it simple. A bit of smokey eyes, a little bit of a messy ruffle to his hair, should be good enough. The shirt he was wearing was pretty expressive on its own, and he did not want to look gaudy.

 As Baekhyun was doing his eyes, he got a glimpse of something by the door, startling and almost poking himself in the eye with the pencil.

 “Ah, shit, you scared me!” Baekhyun exclaimed, pressing a hand against his chest as he took deep breaths to calm down. “Are you okay?”

 Gangaji simply nodded and stepped into the bathroom as well, sitting down on the toilet to watch Baekhyun.

 “Bored?” Baekhyun asked, getting back to his makeup but catching the hybrid’s nod. “Sorry, this isn’t the most exciting stuff… But I’m soon done, and Joohyun shouldn’t be too far away either.”

 Finishing up, Baekhyun brushed through his hair before ruffling it, and then leaving it to air-dry. If he was lucky, it would look good, and if he was not lucky… The bar was dark enough for nobody to really notice.

 “All done,” Baekhyun said with a smile, as he turned around and held out his hands for Gangaji. “Now, let’s go watch TV or something as we wait for Joohyun, okay?”

 But Gangaji did not move. He simply stared at somewhere in the vicinity of Baekhyun’s neck, lips pursed and making a tiny dimple appear.

 “What’s wrong?” Baekhyun asked, tilting his head to try to catch Gangaji’s eyes, but before he could Gangaji was standing up and walking over to the sink. Confused, Baekhyun straightened and watched as Gangaji moved, not making the connection until Gangaji was reaching out.

 Hanging on some hooks on the wall was a part of Baekhyun’s jewelry collection, the ones he used the most and therefore wanted easier access to.

 “Ah, I see, I’m not pretty enough yet, huh?” Baekhyun chuckled, getting an odd look thrown his way. “What, you’re the one who’s about to bling me out!”

 Ignoring Baekhyun, Gangaji went back to looking through the various pieces, until apparently deciding on one and gently lifting it off of the hook.

 It was a three-piece silver necklace, the chains of various lengths, the longest chain for sure disappearing below the first buttoned button on Baekhyun’s shirt.

 “You may have a better fashion sense that I thought you would,” Baekhyun mumbled, mostly to himself, as he turned around to let Gangaji put the necklace on. It was always easier with the help of someone.

 Gangaji seemed to hesitate, since nothing appeared in front of Baekhyun, but holding out, Baekhyun soon found himself looking at three glinting chains. Some fumbling later by warm fingertips, the necklace was in place, and Baekhyun turned around to face Gangaji again.

 “Am I pretty enough  _ now _ then?” Baekhyun asked as he rolled his eyes, hoping that the smile on his lips would be enough for Gangaji to know that he was joking, in case Baekhyun’s tone did not give him away.

 Gangaji pursed his lips and tapped a finger on his chin, making Baekhyun raise his eyebrows in disbelief, before the hybrid nodded in approval, and Baekhyun could not help but laugh.

 “I’m happy I am, thank you for your help,” Baekhyun said in earnest, placing a hand on Gangaji’s upper arm and receiving the largest smile he had gotten so far. “Come on, let’s go, if we manage to find all my things quickly enough, we can watch TV for longer!”

 Unfortunately, the doorbell rang just as Baekhyun had found all of the necessary things. Gangaji had sat out on the treasure hunt, preferring to watch something instead of helping to look, but Baekhyun could honestly not blame him.

 Heading into the hallway, Baekhyun checked to make sure it was Joohyun, before pulling the door open to let her in.

 They did not even exchange pleasantries before Joohyun was scanning Baekhyun, looking him over properly.

 “Wow, you’re looking… Good,” Joohyun said, eyeing Baekhyun from head to toe, and Baekhyun could not help but wonder what she had really wanted to say.

 “I take no responsibility, it was all because of Gangaji,” Baekhyun quickly said, hearing said hybrid gasp from the living room. “It was! You chose the shirt and the necklace!”

 “Okay, children, no fighting please,” Joohyun said with a patient smile. “You look nice, I’m just not used to seeing you out of the leather.”

 “Hey, we got a compliment, Gangaji!” Baekhyun called into the living room - of course not receiving any answer. “So, you brought the car?”

 “I did, it’s parked outside,” Joohyun answered, motioning towards the door with her head. “Is the bike ready to go?”

 “Of course she is, she’s always ready to go,” Baekhyun said with a roll of his eyes. “Come on, let’s go.”

 “Hi, Gangaji, see you later!” Joohyun called into the living room, before following Baekhyun down into the garage.

 They were silent as they walked, coming to a stop by the motorcycle, and from how Joohyun placed her helmet on the seat, Baekhyun knew she wanted to talk.

 “You seem friendlier with each other,” she began, making Baekhyun nod.

 “He’s opened up quite the bit with me, he’s even said a few words,” Baekhyun said. “Not a lot, but a little bit at least.”

 “That’s good, that means that he’s comfortable with you,” Joohyun said with an honest smile.

 “Yeah, I guess so…,” Baekhyun mumbled, trying to decide how to tell Joohyun about the collar. He felt like he needed to tell her, to get advice on what to do, because so far she had been very good at giving advice. “It’s just- earlier today, I asked him if he wanted to get rid of the collar. It must be a horrible constant reminder of the life he fled from, but instead of agreeing, he was adamant about refusing. Why would you want to keep something like that?”

 Joohyun stayed silent for a while, watching Baekhyun, and instead of nervously fumbling, Baekhyun reached out to wrap a hand around the handlebar of his bike.

 “I understand why you’re concerned about it, and why you think he should remove it, but Baekhyun, it’s not as easy as that,” Joohyun said in a soft voice. “It’s a safety to him, no matter how false it is. He’s wearing it to show that he’s taken,  _ owned _ , and it has all of the information to get him back to where he’s coming from should he get lost or something, as well as a sign that if anyone tries to take him without permission, they’ll pay for it, which makes people hesitant to do that and keeping him safe from them. Even if he never wants to go back there, it’s still a safety to have it.” Stopping for a moment, Joohyun exhaled, not quite a sigh yet not far from one either. “Give him time, and hopefully he’ll realize that he doesn’t need it anymore. Help him find safety in something else instead.”

 Baekhyun nodded, eyes on his fingers that tightened around the handlebar.

 “I wish he’d want to remove the collar as quickly as possible as well, but it’s a big and scary step for him to take,” Joohyun said, leaning down a little to catch Baekhyun’s gaze. “Patience, Baekhyunnie, try to have some. I know it’s not your strong suit, but still.”

 “God, you’re so annoying,” Baekhyun groaned, still smiling.

 “The least you can do is call me ‘goddess’ if you’re going to be a blasphemer,” Joohyun said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her helmet.

 “You really went there, huh? You don’t want to tell me your age, but with jokes as old as that, I don’t need you to tell me,” Baekhyun joked, stepping back as Joohyun slung a leg over the motorcycle, pressing the button to open the garage door.

 “You’re kind of indirectly calling yourself old,” Joohyun shot back, winking before sliding the helmet down, and kick-starting the bike.

 Roaring to life, whatever possible reply Baekhyun could have given would have been lost to the sound of his baby’s engine, so Baekhyun simply did not say anything. Instead, he waved as Joohyun backed outside, and then drove off. Closing the garage door, Baekhyun then headed upstairs, to where Gangaji was sitting in the sofa, waiting for him.

 “Hey, ready to go?” Baekhyun called out, walking into the hallway to get dressed.

 The sound of the TV disappeared, and not long after, Baekhyun heard the soft pattering of feet get closer.

 “You know what’s so great about driving a car instead of being on my bike?” Baekhyun asked as he put on his coat, turning to face Gangaji who shook his head. “The fact that I can wear all of my other stuff that isn’t protective leather. There’s only  _ so _ much pretty you can make protective leather look without losing the protection of it, but now… I can go distressed jeans, flimsy shirt, and long coat without a worry in the world!”

 Baekhyun was grinning at the end of his excited little speech, and Gangaji was smiling rather widely as well. Wider than normally, at least, as he made a thumbs up in the universal sign of ‘good’.

 “I agree, it’s very good,” Baekhyun said with a laugh, looking over everything and patting his pockets as he tried to make sure that he had everything that he needed. “You’re dressed, I’m dressed, I have keys, wallet, phone… Okay, we should be good to go! Hoodie up, sweetie.”

 After Gangaji had pulled the hoodie up, and Baekhyun had helped him to conceal as much as possible, they headed outside. Quickly locking the door, Baekhyun then showed the way down the staircase, and over to the car Joohyun had parked by the side of the road.

 Sliding into the car, Baekhyun waited until Gangaji had fastened his seatbelt before he turned the ignition. Sighing softly, Baekhyun gently caressed the steering wheel as the car came to life, spinning like a satisfied cat.

 “She’s a real beauty, isn’t she,” Baekhyun mumbled, clicking his own seatbelt into place before putting the car in gear - and then they were moving.

 Baekhyun loved riding motorcycles, but cars had their advantages as well. They were a bit more comfortable, and had better options for keeping you warm even when the weather was cold. Plus, they also protected you a bit better, but the risk was a part of the charm of motorcycles.

 Though, had it been a car Baekhyun had driven when Gangaji ran out into the road… Quickly, Baekhyun shook his head to disperse the images. It had not been a car, and Gangaji was okay. More or less, at least. But well on his way to fully okay, and that was what mattered.

 The trip was spent with Baekhyun every now and then pointing something out and telling Gangaji about whatever it was, the playing radio filling in the silences. Before long, they reached their destination, Baekhyun driving around to the back where they had a few parking spots for the employees.

 “So, this is it,” Baekhyun said as he turned the car off and undid his belt, motioning towards the large building with his head. There was a strange look in Gangaji’s eyes as he looked at the building, but Baekhyun could not quite figure it out. “Come on, let’s get inside, being outside makes me nervous.”

 As they got close to the employee entrance, the door was suddenly opened to reveal Joohyun, holding the door open with a smile.

 “Welcome, Gangaji, fun to see you here,” Joohyun said, waving them inside. “I hope you’ll enjoy your visit!”

 “It’s a bar, not a hotel,” Baekhyun chortled, earning a glare from Joohyun, but it was quickly softened as Gangaji smiled and reached out to pat Joohyun’s head.

 “Thank you for appreciating me,” Joohyun said, patting Gangaji’s arm in return. “Unfortunately, I have to get going again, but I’ll make sure to come by and say hello every now and then. Bye for now!”

 And with that, Joohyun set off in one direction, while Baekhyun led Gangaji in another.

 “This is where we put our stuff, and this is our break room,” Baekhyun pointed out as he slid his coat off and hung it on an unoccupied hook. “This is one of the places you can go if the bar gets a bit too much, but there’s also another room where you can be alone or with one of us.”

 Gangaji nodded at Baekhyun’s words, looking around in curiosity. No one was around at the moment, everyone preparing for later. There probably already were a few customers inside the bar, but they were mostly regulars and not caring about the preparations.

 “Come on, let’s head on outside before it gets crowded,” Baekhyun said, leading Gangaji towards a corridor leading to the bar.

 As Baekhyun and Gangaji stepped inside of the corridor, Baekhyun’s boss stepped inside as well, coming out of the door of his office. As soon as he saw them, his entire face lit up, and he quickly walked over.

 “Ah, so this is our guest of the night that Joohyun told me of?” Yixing asked, smiling his near-famous dimpled smile.

 “Yes, this is Gangaji,” Baekhyun introduced the hybrid. “This is my boss and the owner of this place, Mr. Zhang.”

 “Yixing is more than fine,” Yixing hurried to say, before turning towards Gangaji again and bowing. “Nice to meet you, Gangaji.”

 Gangaji hurried to bow as well, deeper than Yixing, hands clasped in front of him, head slightly lowered even as he straightened up again, but Baekhyun understood.

 “I won’t keep you, I know your shift starts soon, Baekhyun,” Yixing said, starting to move away before he had finished speaking, which was not unusual. He was a very busy man, from what Baekhyun had learned during his years working in the bar. “Just let me know if there’s anything I can do for you, and I hope you enjoy your visit, sweet little pup.”

 They both stayed silent as they watched Yixing leave, sending them one last wave and smile before slipping through another door.

 “He’s a bit overwhelming, isn’t he,” Baekhyun stated, looking over at Gangaji who nodded. “Took me the better part of a year to not want to cower in his presence anymore. Strange man, the Boss…”

 Gangaji looked over at Baekhyun, something in his eyes, but since he said nothing nor made any gestures, Baekhyun did not try to figure it out either. If it was something important that Gangaji wanted him to know, he would make Baekhyun know that he wanted to be figured out.

 “Come on, better get out to the bar before it fills up,” Baekhyun said, leading Chanyeol to the large doors leading out into the main room.

 Jongin was standing alone behind the bar, preparing for the night, and every now and then looking up to respond to something, or serve someone. It was calm at this hour, though, not many having arrived yet.

 “Hey, Baekhyun, nice to see you! Was almost starting to worry that I’d lost you!” Jongin called out as soon as Baekhyun and Gangaji came into his view.

 “Nah, you’re not getting rid of me that easily,” Baekhyun said with a grin, nodding in the direction of the few early familiar patrons as he led Gangaji over to the bar.

 “Oh, we have an addition?” Jongin asked as Baekhyun lifted the separator for Gangaji, stepping in himself after the hybrid. “Is that why you’re all dolled up?”

 “I’m all dolled up because I rode in a  _ car _ over here, and no, he’s a visitor,” Baekhyun explained, coming to a stop next to the hybrid. “Jongin, this is Gangaji, a friend of mine. Gangaji, this is Jongin, my insufferable co-worker. If he gets too annoying, you’re more than welcome to ignore him. He’s completely harmless, I swear, looks all big and tough, but wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

 Jongin wrinkled his nose in disagreement. “I don’t like flies, so I  _ will _ hurt them,” he said, but not contradicting the rest. “But very nice to meet you, Gangaji, I think we’ll get along fine.”

 “No flirting,” Baekhyun ordered, repeatedly pointing between his own eyes and Jongin’s. “I’m serious, nothing of the sorts.”

 “Jeez, calm down, the only friend of yours I’m interested in is the grumpy little shit,” Jongin said, holding up both hands in a surrender. Shoulders slumping, he gave a little sigh. “I miss the grumpy little shit…”

 “He won’t warm up to you if you call him a grumpy little shit, no matter how true it might be,” Baekhyun pointed out as he moved towards the counter, pulling out the barstool they kept beneath it for various reasons.

 “I know,” Jongin said with yet another sigh, before giving a small, pleased smirk. “But tonight he’ll probably be more annoyed with you than me. He’s been coming every night, angrily rambling about what a bad best friend you are. You know how he is when he’s worried.”

 “Ah, shit, right,” Baekhyun said, placing the barstool in the furthest corner - the furthest away from the patrons as well - before pinching the bridge of his nose. Had he not remembered about the black around his eyes, he would probably have rubbed at them, and looked like a panda by now. “I got a bit caught up in everything, I probably should have called him…”

 “Yeah, he wasn’t too pleased with the text you sent him,” Jongin said, a softer kind of amusement to his voice now. “I tried to comfort him and tell him that you were alright, or Joohyun wouldn’t have been so calm about things.”

 “Thanks, Jongin,” Baekhyun said, sending the bartender a smile. “I appreciate it.”

 Jongin smiled in response, before going back to his playboy facade. “No need to thank me, wasn’t only for your sake I did it.”

 “It was to further your agenda of getting into my best friend’s pants, huh?” Baekhyun snorted, motioning for Gangaji to come closer.

 “His  _ oh _ so tight pants,” Jongin dreamily sighed, putting both elbows on top of the bar and propping his chin on his hands. “A perfect butt like that you’ll only see once in a lifetime…”

 “Like I said, just ignore him if he gets a bit too much,” Baekhyun said as Gangaji came closer, smiling reassuringly. “As soon as he notices that, or that you seem uncomfortable, he’ll tone it down.”

 Gangaji nodded, before looking down at the barstool.

 “Ah, yes, this is for you,” Baekhyun said, motioning towards the barstool. “In case you get tired of standing up, or want to get away a little. I can take you to the backroom if you want to, but I’ll probably not be able to stay with you for long during peak hours, neither will Joohyun. You’re allowed to move freely, but try to stay against the back wall when we have a lot to do, I’d rather not run you down again. Once is more than enough.”

 Once more, Gangaji nodded, before sitting down on the barstool. He got a bit shorter, yet still managed to stay taller than Baekhyun.

 “Hah, shortie,” Jongin snorted from somewhere behind them, and Baekhyun would have kicked him - had Gangaji not smiled and patted Baekhyun’s head.

 “Haha, so funny, I’m short,” Baekhyun grumbled, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of his lips - a smile that seemed to turn Gangaji’s own smile up a few megawatts.

 “Okay, stop giving me all of these sugar highs from how adorable you are, we’ve got work to do, Baekhyun!” Jongin said, trying to sound stern.

 “Just let me know if you want anything to drink, okay?” Baekhyun said, ignoring Jongin in favor of making sure Gangaji was comfortable. “Not sure I dare let you near anything actually alcoholic when I can’t keep a close eye on you, but I make some mean virgin drinks!”

 Still smiling, Gangaji nodded, before gently pushing at Baekhyun to make him actually do his job.

 “Yes, yes, calm down, I’m going,” Baekhyun said, rolling his eyes. When had their dynamic become Baekhyun acting like a mother hen, and Gangaji pushing him to actually do the shit he needed to do?

 Because Baekhyun did not mind it at all.


	5. Chapter 5

 The night went on much in the same manner as all other nights in the bar. With it being a Friday, it meant slightly more visitors, but nothing Baekhyun and Jongin could not handle.

 Gangaji attracted some attention, which was to be expected, but thankfully not many mentioned him, or did anything more than offer him a quick smile. Those who  _ did _ mention him in anything else than an innocent way were quickly shut down by either Baekhyun or Jongin, or Joohyun (the harshest of them all) whenever she was behind the bar.

 Which was surprisingly often, but Baekhyun was pretty sure that was because of Gangaji being there, and Joohyun being weak for Gangaji. But since Gangaji seemed to enjoy whenever Joohyun came to visit, Baekhyun was rather happy about it.

 Something Baekhyun had not expected, though, at least not to this extent, was how weak Jongin had turned for Gangaji, and how much Gangaji enjoyed Jongin’s company. Not as much as he enjoyed Baekhyun’s, he was pretty sure of, but still. Baekhyun hoped, and was rather confident, that it was a good thing. After all, if nothing else, it meant that there was a third person to keep Gangaji company, which in turn meant that even if they got really busy, not a lot of effort would be needed to make sure that Gangaji was never alone.

 Gangaji, in turn, seemed  _ very _ intrigued by everything going on behind the bar. When the customers lulled, Gangaji would sneak forwards to watch any of the bartenders mix drinks, mouth forming an ‘o’ at the more intricate ones. Baekhyun showed him how to operate the tap beers, thoroughly enjoying the muted giggles whenever the hybrid managed to do it properly.

 “You want something to drink?” Baekhyun asked about two hours into his shift, a new lull in the patrons giving him some time to spend with Gangaji. “Non-alcoholic, though, like I said. I realized I don’t even know how old you are… But anyway, a drink?”

 Gangaji rather excitedly nodded, moving forwards to stand by Baekhyun’s side and watch him mix his drink.

 “Red, blue, green, or pink,” Baekhyun asked, holding up a finger for each color named. Thinking for a moment, Gangaji touched the finger named red. “Multi-colored or not?”

 As Gangaji nodded for multi-colored, Baekhyun hummed to himself, mentally going through red, multi-colored drinks he could make a virgin version of.

 “Give him a Beach, that’s a pretty nice drink even when non-alcoholic,” Jongin suggested from where he was standing, leaned against the bar and watching them. Baekhyun turned to scowl at him, but instead ended up raising his eyebrows as Gangaji nodded.

 “You want a Beach?” Nod. “Do you know what it is?” Shake. “But you still want one?” Nod again. Baekhyun sighed, but pulled out the appropriate glass. “Okay, then, but don’t complain to me later, this is all Jongin’s fault.”

 Ignoring Jongin’s protests, Baekhyun quickly made the drink, putting an umbrella and a straw into it before placing it in front of Gangaji.

 “There you go, one Virgin Sex on the Beach,” Baekhyun declared, motioning towards said drink.

 Almost immediately, Gangaji’s head whipped around to stare at Baekhyun with large eyes, but Baekhyun just shrugged.

 “Jongin is right, it’s a pretty okay virgin drink, but you still shouldn’t listen to him too much. Also, we call it a Beach because we get too tired of saying the entire name, and getting leered at by customers.”

 “A  _ Virgin _ Sex on the Beach, what an oxymoron,” Jongin cackled from his position, apparently finding it very funny. And sure, Baekhyun could agree, a Virgin Sex on the Beach is a rather amusing thing, but at the moment he did not appreciate it as much as Jongin did.

 “Let me remove your air, and you’ll only have moron left,” Baekhyun deadpanned, making Jongin shut up and look over at him in confusion.

 “What, remove my air-” Jongin mumbled, before slapping his forehead. “Oh my god, that’s such a nerdy joke… Remove the  _ oxygen _ to have  _ moron _ left, wow. That’s probably the worst one I’ve heard in several weeks, Baekhyun. I thought you were getting  _ better _ , not  _ worse _ .”

 Jongin might not enjoy Baekhyun’s joke too much, but Baekhyun saw how Gangaji’s lips curled into a small smile around his straw. Who cared about Jongin and his opinion anyway?

 “Did you like it?” Baekhyun asked after Gangaji had taken a sip.

 Tilting his head a little, Gangaji softly hummed, before he nodded - and it felt like a small victory to Baekhyun.

 “Ehey, I did good!” Baekhyun cheered, sticking out his tongue at Jongin.

 “Hey, it was my suggestion!” Jongin exclaimed, but Baekhyun ignored him, and soon there was a customer coming up to the bar closer to where Jongin was standing.

 “I’m happy you like it,” Baekhyun said sincerely, watching as Gangaji took another sip.

 Smiling, he reached out to pat Baekhyun’s head, and Baekhyun sighed.

 “You’re the puppy here, not me, so why are you patting my head as if I’m a puppy?” Baekhyun asked. But Gangaji merely pointed between the two of them, before patting Baekhyun’s head again. “You’re telling me we’re both puppies?”

 “I mean, he’s not wrong,” Jongin said as he walked past them, on his way to fetch something, and had he not been carrying valuable alcohol Baekhyun would have tripped him. And the pleased and rather proud smile on Gangaji’s lips also played a big role in the non-tripping, if Baekhyun had to be to honest.

 “Do I get free drinks if I act disgustingly cute too?” the rather drunk patron Jongin was currently serving questioningly sluddered.

 Immediately, Baekhyun pinned her with the nastiest glare he could muster, half a second before Jongin slammed down a bottle on the wood counter of the preparation area, making the woman jump nearly a meter into the air.

 “Here’s your drink,” Jongin coldly said as soon as he had fixed the drink, a very non-happy smile on his lips.

 Not saying another word and looking very sheepish, the woman grabbed her glass, before hurrying away. As soon as she turned away, Baekhyun turned to Gangaji, who was standing behind Baekhyun and playing with the straw in his drink, a bit hunched over in an obvious attempt to appear smaller.

 “I’m giving you free drinks because you’re very non-disgustingly adorable, and because I want to show off my skills,” Baekhyun clarified, tapping the glass in Gangaji’s hand softly with a fingertip. “You enjoying what I made for you brings me a lot of happiness, okay?”

 Gangaji nodded and gave Baekhyun a small smile, before tilting his head in the direction of the barstool.

 “Yeah, go sit down if you want to, you don’t have to stay here and be uncomfortable,” Baekhyun said. “Just let any of us know if you want to step out, okay?”

 Leaning down, Gangaji pressed the side of his head against Baekhyun’s, temple against temple, and there was something about the gesture that calmed Baekhyun, that let him know that Gangaji understood and was thankful. Like a more chaste variant of a nuzzle.

 So as Gangaji went to sit down on the barstool, Baekhyun turned back to his duties with a lighter heart, not as worried anymore. And at one point, Jongin caught his eye, giving him a smile that Baekhyun did not quite understand, but that still made him feel relief.

 The night continued on, more and more people arriving, making the lulls fewer and further in between, Gangaji staying on his barstool for longer periods of time. Baekhyun felt slightly bad about it, but every time he turned to Gangaji, the hybrid would send him a small smile. So Baekhyun smiled back, sometimes asking if Gangaji needed anything, before going back to work.

 It was in the middle of finishing up an order that the next challenge revealed itself to Baekhyun, like lightning from a somewhat clear sky. A  _ fuming _ bolt of lightning.

 “Uh-oh, pissed friend incoming,” Jongin stage-whispered to Baekhyun, who stiffened, wide eyes scanning the crowd in front of them.

 Sure enough, Kyungsoo was making his way through the masses, looking a bit like a miniature bull - but in that cute way that only Kyungsoo managed.

 Soon, Kyungsoo was by the bar, slamming his hands down on top of the counter as he pinned Baekhyun with a hard stare, filled with concern. Baekhyun could not help but smile softly.

 “Where the fuck have you been, Baekhyun?” Kyungsoo rather angrily said, but Baekhyun could hear the note of worry buried beneath the anger.

 “Aw, boo, did you miss me?” Baekhyun joked, giving Kyungsoo’s cheek a loving pat. “I texted you, though, telling you I was home sick?”

 “I called and texted you a million of times just to get a half-shitty text that didn’t even explain anything, do you know how close I was to going over to your place and pounding the door down?” Kyungsoo grumbled, more adorably pouty angry now.

 “I appreciate you worrying about me, Kyungsoo, but I promise I’m fine,” Baekhyun said with a smile. “I had a small accident with my bike, so I was just resting up a bit. Nothing broken, just a few bruises.”

 Kyungsoo stared at Baekhyun for a few seconds, gaze going up and down in a clear evaluation of Baekhyun’s physical state.

 “Okay, fine. You seem fine,” Kyungsoo sighed, dragging a hand through his short hair. “Now, with that out of the way, who’s the guy behind you?”

 Smile not falling, years of practice coming in handy, Baekhyun shook his head.

 “Questions means involvement, and you don’t want to get involved,” Baekhyun quietly said, not wanting to draw the attention of other patrons. “All you need to know is that he’s under my care.”

 “You’re my best friend, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo said, staring straight into Baekhyun’s eyes.

 They held gazes for a few long seconds, before Baekhyun pulled out a glass and busied himself with making a drink for Kyungsoo.

 “You staying until closing?” Baekhyun asked, smile back in place.

 “Why would I stop doing that now when I always do otherwise? Of course I will,” Kyungsoo easily answered, and Baekhyun nodded as he placed the drink in front of Kyungsoo.

 “I’ll talk to you more later, then,” Baekhyun said, before moving on to serve other patrons.

 

 As the closing hour creeped closer and closer and people got drunker and drunker, the flow of customers started to slow. Both Baekhyun and Jongin got more time to keep Gangaji company, and after yet another flirting attempt shot down by Kyungsoo, Jongin decided to stay back with the hybrid.

 Having made his best friend another drink, Baekhyun turned around to find Jongin standing by Gangaji’s side, with Gangaji’s head on his shoulder, and his own head leaned against Gangaji’s. They made a rather cute picture, Baekhyun had to agree with, both softened by the ambient lightning behind the bar bringing out the more rounded features of their faces.

 “Hey, your hair is sort of matching,” Baekhyun said with a smile, motioning towards the two men’s heads. “Similar shades, you know.”

 “Amazing coincidence, but considering how good we both look in it, I’m not surprised,” Jongin said with a half-smirk, and Gangaji cracked a small smile as well.

 “Kim Jongin!” Baekhyun growled, showing off his (compared to Gangaji’s, tiny) canines.

 “Byun Baekhyun!” Jongin called back, but pouting instead of baring his teeth. “I’m not flirting!”

 “He’s not flirting,” Kyungsoo said in agreement, and Baekhyun spun around to stare at his best friend in disbelief. “What? He flirts with me  _ daily _ , I for one knows when he’s flirting or not!”

 “The sex bomb by the bar has a point,” Jongin pointed out, making Baekhyun roll his eyes.

 It was not fun when they ganged up on him!

 “Whatever,” Baekhyun muttered, stomping off towards the next customer, playing it up just a tiny bit.

 

 After having helped to clean up the bar, Baekhyun left Jongin to herd the last few stragglers outside, instead motioning for Gangaji and Kyungsoo to follow him out back. Checking the room that Baekhyun had told Gangaji he could go through and finding it empty, Baekhyun let them both inside, closing the door behind him and walking over to the desk standing in the middle of the room. Gangaji followed after Baekhyun and coming to a stop slightly behind and to the side of him, by the side of the desk, while Kyungsoo positioned himself across from Baekhyun instead.

 Well, then, time for introductions.

 “Gangaji, this is Kyungsoo, my best friend,” Baekhyun introduced them, smiling softly at the hybrid before glancing over at Kyungsoo. “Kyungsoo, this is Gangaji, don’t be annoying to him, yes, Gangaji is what he’ll be called, no, he won’t answer questions.”

 Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow at Baekhyun, but bowed towards Gangaji, who hurried to bow as well.

 “Nice to meet you, Gangaji,” Kyungsoo said, smiling and showing off the sweeter side of him. “So, Baekhyun, want to explain why you disappeared for several days without explaining anything to me?”

 Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the desk.

 “Basically, short version, an accident happened involving me and Gangaji, and now he’s living with me,” Baekhyun explained, not knowing how much he himself, or Gangaji, was comfortable with sharing.

 “From everything you’ve said up until now, I’m guessing it’s to protect Gangaji?” Kyungsoo asked, nodding towards the hybrid.

 “Yes,” Baekhyun admitted. “And that’s about as many details you’ll get from me, the rest is up to Gangaji to disclose,  _ if _ he wants to.”

 Kyungsoo nodded. “I understand, and I don’t want to snoop, I just want to make sure you’re okay. And offer my help, if you need anything, both of you.”

 Gangaji looked surprised at the offer, making both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo smile.

 “Baekhyun is my best friend, and if he’s protecting you, then I’ll be right beside him and do the same,” Kyungsoo explained, giving a small shrug. “It’s what best friends are for.”

 Eyes still large with surprise, Gangaji looked over at Baekhyun, who shrugged as well.

 “I’d do the same. Unless he was protecting a mass murderer,” Baekhyun said with a crooked smile. “Then I’d question him and his sanity, but as long as it’s not a mass murderer I’d do the same for him.”

 Gangaji still looked a bit shocked as he nodded in understanding, and Baekhyun’s heart ached. All of the little things that continued to show Baekhyun just what a paltry life Gangaji had lived up until now made Baekhyun sadder and sadder - and so much more determined to show Gangaji just what he had missed due to people being megalomaniac assholes.

 Reaching out, Gangaji gently took hold of Baekhyun’s sleeve, tugging lightly to make sure he had Baekhyun’s attention. When Baekhyun shot him a questioning look, Gangaji motioned towards his head - focusing on the top of it, and Baekhyun had a slight idea to what the hybrid meant.

 “You can do whatever you want, it’s all up to you, I just want you to be comfortable with it,” Baekhyun answered, and Gangaji slowly nodded, looking a bit like he was contemplating things, before seemingly making up his mind.

 Reaching up, Gangaji took ahold of the beanie, pulling it off and letting his ears spring back into position - and Baekhyun noticed the small grimace on Gangaji’s face from it.

 Kyungsoo, on the other hand, most probably did not notice it. He seemed rather taken aback by the appearance of two very non-human ears, gasping and actually choking on the air for a moment.

 “Wow, that was a  _ very _ dramatic reveal, Gangaji,” Baekhyun chortled, and Gangaji looked down at his fingers that were fiddling with the beanie - but Baekhyun saw the small smile on his lips.

 “I mean, I guess I should’ve seen it coming, considering the need for protection, and the nickname…,” Kyungsoo mumbled, almost only to himself, dragging a hand through his hair. “But damn, that’s… I honestly did not expect that!”

 “You understand why I didn’t answer your questions before?” Baekhyun asked, and Kyungsoo looked over at him with sharp eyes.

 “Yeah. Yeah, I do, of course I do,” Kyungsoo answered. “I can only assume things, but it’s enough for me to know just how dangerous this is, Baekhyun. So I understand. But my offer still stands.”

 “Thank you, I think we’re both grateful for that,” Baekhyun said, glancing over at Gangaji. “If there’s anything I’ll let you know.”

 Kyungsoo nodded in acknowledgement. “You heading home now?”

 “Yeah, I think so, I bet Gangaji is a bit tired, too much excitement,” Baekhyun said, looking over properly at the hybrid and seeing him nod, shoulders dropping a little.

 “Okay then, I’ll let you be on your way, then,” Kyungsoo said, smiling at Gangaji. “Nice to meet you, Gangaji, I hope to see you soon again. And keep in touch, Baekhyun.”

 Baekhyun gave a mock salute, Kyungsoo rolling his eyes before leaving the room.

 Snorting, Baekhyun turned back towards Gangaji, who turned to face him as well.

 “Let’s get out of here,” Baekhyun said, moving to lead a nodding Gangaji out of the room and the building.

 

 The night was cold, making Baekhyun pull his coat a bit closer to himself as they hurriedly made their way towards the car. Once inside, Baekhyun’s first order of business was to turn on the car and the AC, turning the heat up. Once it became a bit warmer, the both of them relaxing, Baekhyun prompted Gangaji to put his seatbelt on while doing the same himself, and then he drove off.

 “This button here warms the seat up for you,” Baekhyun said, pointing towards the seat heater for Gangaji’s side before clicking on his own. “It takes some time to get it going, but I promise it’s worth the wait.”

 Curiously, Gangaji clicked the button for his side, looking around afterwards and making Baekhyun chuckle.

 “You won’t notice anything yet, give it a minute or so,” Baekhyun said, focusing on the road as he drove them away from the bar.

 Not long after, Baekhyun started to feel his own seat heat up. It was probably the quickest seat warmer he had ever experienced, and he sighed in content as it warmed him up. A few seconds later, Gangaji made a sound of surprise, and glancing over at him, Baekhyun found the hybrid wiggling in his seat, before sitting upright and looking back, then returning to pressing his back against the seat.

 “It’s nice, isn’t it?” Baekhyun grinned, glancing over again and finding Gangaji nodding.

 Somewhere along the road, Gangaji turned more on his side, facing Baekhyun, and curling against the warm seat. And somewhere between this point and Baekhyun’s home, Gangaji closed his eyes and fell asleep.

 As Baekhyun finally parked the car and turned it off, he turned to watch Gangaji, feeling a bit bad about being unable to let him sleep more against the warm seat. He looked rather peaceful, with his eyes not completely closed, and his lips slightly parted, seemingly getting some really nice sleep. Baekhyun had no idea how well Gangaji was sleeping in his guestroom, but he had a feeling it might not be  _ quite _ this well.

 “Hey, Gangaji sweetie?” Baekhyun softly called out, reaching over with a hand to gently shake the hybrid awake. “We’re home, you need to wake up.”

 Baekhyun did not really know what he had expected, but he was pretty sure that he was not expecting to suddenly find his wrist in a painful grip as large eyes stared at him, filled with rage layered on top of poorly-concealed fear, teeth bared and a chest rumbling with a growl.

 It only lasted for a second, as Gangaji fully returned to the present, realizing that it was Baekhyun who was sitting next to him, and not someone else. Quickly, as if burned, the hybrid let go of Baekhyun’s wrist, lips clamping shut as he pressed himself backwards against the door, curling in on himself.

 Before Baekhyun had even managed to fully register the entire situation, he was stretching his hands out towards Gangaji, aiming for calming him down, reassure him.

 “It’s okay, Gangaji, it’s okay, I’m not injured,” Baekhyun rambled, hands landing on Gangaji’s upper arms and stroking them in a hopefully soothing manner. “You were just surprised by me waking you up, it’s fine, you were asleep and couldn’t have known it was me and nobody else. It was instinctively, right? You’ve gotten woken up enough times by bad people to instinctively react to it like that, right?”

 Slowly, Gangaji seemed to calm down, body relaxing and gravitating towards Baekhyun, until Baekhyun could pull the hybrid into a hug. It was not until Gangaji pressed his face against the curve of Baekhyun’s neck that Baekhyun realized that this was their first proper hug. Even if they had had some bodily contact, mostly from when Baekhyun had helped him around, this was the first time Gangaji allowed Baekhyun to hold him. Another step forwards, and an important one at that.

 Holding the hybrid close, Baekhyun let one hand slowly run up and down Gangaji’s back, until he was completely relaxed against Baekhyun, body lax.

 “I’m just as unharmed as I was before you fell asleep,” Baekhyun murmured, hand coming to a stop. “I should’ve considered the fact that some people react rather violently to being woken up, but at least you didn’t punch me in the face. Kyungsoo did that once… Traumatized me and my nose so badly that I refused to wake him up after that, which he did not particularly appreciate the few times it led to him being late to class.”

 Soft puffs of air against his skin and a rapidly moving chest were the only indications of Gangaji laughing, but it was all Baekhyun needed.

 “Feeling better?” Baekhyun asked. But even as Gangaji nodded, no one moved away from the other.

 It was comforting, the closeness, even if it was not very comfortable in the cramped space of a car.

 But all too soon, the car had cooled down, and Baekhyun was not dressed properly for sitting in a cold car all night. Which meant that unfortunately, he would have to break the moment.

 “Hey, I think it's time to head inside,” Baekhyun murmured, brushing his thumb against Gangaji’s nape, trying to ignore the cool steel. “We can’t sit out in the cold all night, we don’t want to get sick!”

 Humming a little, Gangaji inhaled deeply, before he slowly pulled back and let Baekhyun go. Baekhyun could not deny that he missed the closeness, but instead of dwelling too much on that, he hurried out of the car and waited for Gangaji, so that they could walk over to the apartment together. Huddling close to each other to retain some heat, they crossed the road and walked up the stairs, Baekhyun fumbling a bit with the lock before making it, and allowing them entrance.

 “Did you have fun?” Baekhyun asked as they stepped out of their shoes and taking off their outerwear.

 “Yes,” Gangaji softly mumbled, a small smile accompanying the rare word.

 “Jongin didn’t bother you too much?” Baekhyun continued, this time receiving a shake of head and a slightly larger smile. “That’s good, that’s very good…”

 Turning to walk further into the room, Baekhyun came to a stop at the feeling of a hand on his head, and had he not, he most probably would have missed the whispered ‘cute’ coming from behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Baekhyun raised an eyebrow at the still-smiling hybrid.

 “Are you talking about yourself? You must be talking about yourself, ‘cause you’re the only cute one here,” Baekhyun said, determination in his voice as he nodded to himself, making Gangaji giggle silently, stepping closer to drop his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder, cold nose pressing against Baekhyun’s throat. “You tired?”

 As Gangaji nodded, his nose continued to bop Baekhyun’s skin in short, cold touches. It was almost tickling, but firm enough to not quite be.

 “Are you sleeping well in the guestroom?” Baekhyun could not help but ask, staying in place for Gangaji to continue to lean on.

 There was some hesitation from Gangaji’s side, only silence for a few heartbeats, before the hybrid answered. Slowly, he shook his head, as if unsure if he should even tell Baekhyun or not.

 But Baekhyun wanted to know, it was important for him to know, because he truly wanted Gangaji to be able to sleep well. And if he did not, then Baekhyun wanted to make sure to help him in whatever way he possibly could.

 “No? Can I help in any way?” Baekhyun asked, placing a hand at the back of Gangaji’s head and scratching softly.

 “I… Don’t know…?” Gangaji whispered, before Baekhyun felt something grab the back of his shirt. “I’m scared, waking up alone. Not knowing where I am, wondering if I’m back.”

 That was without a doubt the most Baekhyun had ever heard Gangaji say, and of course it was also the most heartbreaking thing he had heard from the hybrid.

 “Can I sleep in your room?” Gangaji asked, before Baekhyun even managed to start to try to come up with some kind of response, sounding so small and vulnerable that Baekhyun wanted to hug him and never let go.

 “Of course you can! Of course!” Baekhyun answered, perhaps a bit too strongly, considering how Gangaji startled against him. “Ah, I’m sorry. I don’t mind that at all, I just want you to feel safe and be able to sleep well, and if that’s in my room, of course you can sleep in my room.”

 Gangaji burrowed his head a bit further into the crook of Baekhyun’s neck, an exhale washing over Baekhyun’s skin.

 “Thank you,” the hybrid mumbled, making Baekhyun smile wistfully.

 “No problem at all, Gangaji. Go and brush your teeth and get done, and I’ll change the sheets,” Baekhyun said, slowly moving away from the hybrid to dislodge them from each other, smiling as brightly as he could muster as he urged Gangaji towards the bathroom.

 Gangaji sent him one last look, before closing the door to the bathroom, and then Baekhyun moved, heading for his bedroom to as quickly as possible change the sheets of his bed.

 By the time Baekhyun was done, bringing the sheets to his laundry room and picking up his clothes from the evening before, Gangaji was done, standing outside of the bathroom and fiddling with his fingers a bit awkwardly. More or less throwing the things inside of the room (maybe he should be proper about it - but nah), Baekhyun headed over to where Gangaji was standing, looking so tall yet small.

 “You done?” Baekhyun asked, noting how Gangaji had changed clothes as well.

 Gangaji hurriedly nodded his head, taking hold of the hem of his shirt and wrapping it around one of his fingers, looking somewhat scared, and Baekhyun wondered if this really was a good idea.

 But Gangaji had asked himself, and if this was what Gangaji wanted, then Baekhyun was on board with it.

 “Go get your pillow and cover, and we’ll meet in my room, then,” Baekhyun prompted, giving Gangaji a smile before heading towards the bathroom himself.

 After Baekhyun finished and exited the bathroom, he found Gangaji standing outside of his bedroom, clutching pillow and cover to his chest. He looked adorable, as if he was having a sleepover, but also a bit out of place. Chuckling over the adorable image Gangaji was painting and trying not to think too hard about the rest, Baekhyun walked over to the bedroom and motioned for the hybrid to step inside, walking inside after him. Debating with himself for a split second, Baekhyun decided to leave the door open, to make sure that Gangaji would not feel trapped or anything like that - also trying not to wonder how many times Gangaji had been lead into a room and had the door closed behind him, by the person who had paid for him.

_ Disgusting. _

 Feeling slightly less awkward about undressing, Baekhyun still changed clothes quickly and headed over to his bed, slipping beneath his cover and looking up at Gangaji, who was standing by the edge of the bed, still clutching his pillow and cover.

 “You keep surprising me, but I’m pretty sure not even you can sleep while standing up,” Baekhyun said, and finally, Gangaji cracked a smile. It was smile, but it still was there.

 As Gangaji moved, Baekhyun looked away, putting his phone to charge, but a movement next to him had Baekhyun look up.

 “Gangaji, what are you doing?” Baekhyun asked, watching in confusion as the hybrid placed his pillow on the floor beside Baekhyun’s bed, in the middle of putting his cover down as well.

 Stiffening, Gangaji looked over at Baekhyun with wide eyes filled with questions, but also a tinge of fear - and Baekhyun had one of those feelings again.

 “You don’t have to sleep on the floor, you can sleep in the bed,” Baekhyun said, motioning towards said bed and the space on the side of which Baekhyun was not laying. “It’s much more comfortable, I promise.”

 Gangaji hesitated for a moment, before he picked his pillow back up, and put it on the bed, followed by the cover, and then by the hybrid himself. He moved slowly, carefully, as if trying to not jostle the bed too much, and curling himself into a ball at the very edge, as if to not take up too much space.

 “You’re in here to sleep better, so please allow yourself to be comfortable,” Baekhyun mumbled into the space between them. “My bed is large and more than big enough for the both of us, Gangaji, and you’re not bothering me or anything like that.”

 Baekhyun could literally see the tension bleed out of Gangaji, the tightly wound ball slowly relaxing and expanding - not fully, but enough that it looked at least somewhat comfortable. Smiling, Baekhyun then turned around to turn off the lamp.

 “Goodnight, Gangaji,” Baekhyun said, sighing softly as propped his arm beneath his head, exhaustion taking over.

 It had been a somewhat eventful day, and after having had a few days off, Baekhyun was not quite at peak effectiveness. Sure, he stayed behind a counter and mixed drinks, but the stress coming in waves and having to keep up with all the orders and make sure to make them right was not a walk in the park. Add to that the constant worries at the back of his head about Gangaji, and it became quite a lot. So it really was not strange that Baekhyun quickly sunk down - and the feeling of having someone else close, the sound of someone else breathing next to him, was too comfortable for him to be able to stay awake.

 But he still heard the whispered words, and he still smiled at them.

 “Thank you. Goodnight, Baekhyun.”


	6. Chapter 6

 Baekhyun was feeling very warm as he woke up. Very warm, but also very comfortable.

 It was lovely, to be honest, and he did not want to wake up - but it was also a bit strange, and the strangeness was finally what properly brought him up to the surface.

 The first thing Baekhyun noticed was the weight on his left shoulder and pectoral. The second thing he noticed was the grip on his shirt, just below where his sternum ended. Frowning a little, Baekhyun peeked one eye open, tilting his head down a little - just go get attacked by the fluffiness of an ear.

 Moving his nose away from the tickling fur, Baekhyun tried his hardest not to sneeze as he evaluated the situation.

 Gangaji was sleeping on him, clinging to him rather well. He even had one leg loosely slung over one of Baekhyun’s, and it was rather adorable. But even though Baekhyun found this adorable, and did not mind it in the least, he knew that  _ Gangaji _ might not feel the same.

 So, should Baekhyun try to slip out of his hold, or wake the hybrid up instead? How would Gangaji feel should he wake up as Baekhyun is trying to remove him? He would probably see it as a rejection, and like he was doing something bad…

 Waking him up it was, then. Hopefully the lesser evil of the two, though Baekhyun did not like that option too much either.

 Next problem -  _ how _ should Baekhyun wake him up?

 Thinking hard, Baekhyun tried to come up with a good way to do it. Last time had been a minor catastrophe, after all, and Baekhyun did not feel up for a reenactment of that to be very honest.

 He needed to be more gentle, to coax Gangaji up more slowly, and have him wake up gradually and naturally on his own, to make sure he was not shocked awake and not knowing where he was. Not knowing where he was was obviously the problem behind it all, and if Gangaji’s mind managed to wake up alongside his body, helping him place himself in time, hopefully things would go well enough.

 But how could Baekhyun make that happen?

 Touch might not be the best way to go, considering Gangaji’s background. It was normally a good and easy way to wake someone up, but… Maybe not Gangaji. Calling his name might not be the best way either, since this might also trigger memories, and have the hybrid wake up too quickly.

 Then what the hell was left?

 Thankfully (hopefully), Baekhyun did not have to think too much about that, since Gangaji began to move against him, humming and groaning, as if he did not want to wake up.

 Sentiment  _ very _ much mirrored. But, alas, waking up was a thing you kind of needed to do.

 Shivering, Gangaji pressed himself closer to Baekhyun, the grip on Baekhyun’s t-shirt tightening a little, before relaxing again, and it was one of the cutest things Baekhyun had ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Had it not been morning and Gangaji on his way to wake up, as well as rather skittish, Baekhyun would have been sobbing and cooing and hugging the living hell out of the hybrid.

 But as Gangaji moved, to press his nose against Baekhyun’s neck, Baekhyun could not help but chuckle at both the feeling of soft ears against his skin, and the adorableness.

 “Morning,” Baekhyun whispered, voice a bit sleep-roughed, and immediately he felt Gangaji tense against him. “No, stop, no, let me enjoy this a bit longer, you’re so warm!”

 Through half a miracle and a shitload of luck, Gangaji stayed in place, not really relaxing fully, but not staying ramrod stiff either. Putting the hand of his trapped arm on Gangaji’s shoulder, Baekhyun sighed in happiness, honestly glad about Gangaji not moving away - but also wanting to show the hybrid that he was more than okay with morning cuddles. Morning cuddles were the best!

 But, unfortunately, you could not stay in bed for however long you wanted to, no matter how much you wanted to, and it did not take long before both Baekhyun’s stomach and bladder made themselves known.

 “I guess we should go up,” Baekhyun whispered, sighing - this time in sadness. “Which means I need my arm back, unfortunately…”

 Slowly, Gangaji nodded, but before he moved away he pressed his face against Baekhyun’s jaw and inhaled, then rushing out of bed and out of the room. Baekhyun laid blinking in confusion, not quite sure what had just happened, hearing what he suspected was the bathroom door slamming closed. That was… Weird, but cute.

 Sitting up and throwing his cover back, Baekhyun slid out of bed, grumbling a bit about the cold floor. He should have gotten an apartment with heated floors…

 After finding a pair of socks, Baekhyun made his way over to the kitchen to start on breakfast as he waited for Gangaji (and the bathroom to become free), managing to make most of it before the hybrid emerged and made his way into the kitchen. Baekhyun offered him a smile that Gangaji just barely returned, cheeks faintly red, as he collapsed down into one of the chairs by the kitchen table.

 Plating everything, Baekhyun brought the food over to the table and put it down, telling Gangaji to eat before it turned cold, and then he jogged over to the bathroom to take care of business.

 Halfway through breakfast, after Baekhyun had returned and begun to eat as well, he started to think about the morning and the troubles he had had. It was probably better to just ask Gangaji, instead of trying to figure things out on his own.

 “Question,” Baekhyun said, holding up a hand as if he was in a classroom. Gangaji seemed a bit confused about the action - yet another testament to the life he had led. “What’s the best way to wake you up? I mean, last night in the car it didn’t go to well, and today you woke up on your own so I didn’t need to wake you, but what if I need to?”

 Pursing his lips, Gangaji stared down at his breakfast as he more than surely thought about the question. Knowing it might take some time to get an answer, Baekhyun continued with his food as he waited, though slower than before.

 “No shaking,” Gangaji finally said, glancing over at Baekhyun, before back down at his breakfast. “No loud calling of my name. No holding me down.”

 Baekhyun nodded at each and every no, all of them making sense. Not that he would call Gangaji out if one of them did not make sense, but the ones mentioned so far were ones that Baekhyun had figured out himself would be pretty bad.

 “I… Think you can gently touch?” Gangaji continued, sounding very unsure, as he began to chew on his lower lip. “Like rub my back?”

 “Okay, that sounds like an idea, I can try that,” Baekhyun said, pressing his spoon to his lips as he thought. “Yeah, that’s probably one of the gentlest ways to wake someone, I can’t think of anything else. Let’s try it, then!”

 Gangaji gave a small smile, before getting back to his food once more.

 

 Yet another typical night in the bar, yet another woman hitting on Baekhyun.

 It was not that uncommon - bartenders tend to get hit on a lot, especially if it might mean free drinks. And Baekhyun was not half-bad looking either, so it truly was inevitable.

 Now, if Baekhyun  _ liked _ the attention or not, that was a whole other thing. Sure, he found it flattering - but he had a few years back realized that he was probably a lot more inclined towards the male-attributed part of population.

 Simply, he liked dicks.

 But, he was a polite man, and professional, so he simply stayed polite as he mixed whatever drink that had been ordered, smile in place, but never giving more than necessary.

 Some were a bit more determined, though - like the woman he was currently serving.

 “You have really pretty fingers,” she said as he put the glass down in front of her, managing to touch him before he had pulled back.

 “Thank you,” Baekhyun said, still smiling, because that was what he was required to do. “Anything else?”

 As the woman tilted her head down, a small smile on her lips that she probably thought looked seductive, Baekhyun knew what was coming, and he almost groaned. And sure enough, in the next second the woman was peering up at him through mascara-thick eyelashes, fluttering them as she pressed her arms together to enhance her breasts.

 She was really pretty, it was such a shame she wasted it all on him.

 “Maybe your number…?” she purred, looking very expecting.

 It was as Baekhyun was trying to come up with the best way to as gently as possible let the woman know that he was not interested that he felt a presence at his back, before long, hoodie-clad arms appeared in his field of vision. Following that was the feeling of a chest against his back, and then a head next to his own.

 Gangaji had for some reason decided to move forwards from his barstool to hang himself over Baekhyun, and Baekhyun raised both eyebrows at it. Not that he minded, at all, because it was rather nice - but he  _ was _ very surprised.

 “I’m bored,” Gangaji sighed out, and Baekhyun could hear the pout in his voice.

 “Give me a moment, sweetie, I have a customer,” Baekhyun said, patting the arms that had wound themselves around his shoulders, before turning back to the woman.

 Because even though Baekhyun kind of really wanted to take the out Gangaji offered him, Baekhyun could not really do it. It was not quite fair to the woman, neither was it very professional. So Baekhyun pasted his polite smile back on, and sought after the needed words.

 “We do not give out our numbers to patrons, is there anything else bar-related I can help you with?” Baekhyun politely asked, watching as the woman’s face turned sour.

 It was true, though, there was even a sign with it spelled out above the bar. Numbers were not given - but that did not necessarily mean that it had to matter. Jongin showed that time and time again.

 Not saying anything in reply to Baekhyun, the woman instead turned her narrowing eyes towards Gangaji, who stiffened against Baekhyun. Before Baekhyun could try to diffuse the situation, though, he felt this kind of rumbling against his back, followed by what sounded like a low, warning growl. The woman’s eyes seemed to narrow even more, lips pulling back, and Baekhyun had this strange feeling that he was in the middle of an escalating dog fight.

 But then the woman’s eyes widened, head snapping to the side, before lowering. She still looked pissed - but she did grab her drink and move away from the bar, much to Baekhyun’s relief.

 He had other things to think about.

 “Did you just growl at one of my customers?” Baekhyun incredulously asked, trying to look at Gangaji, just getting greyish hair and fur, but he did feel a shrug. “Gangaji!”

 “She started it,” Gangaji muttered, making Baekhyun have to bite down on his lower lip to contain a laugh.

 “Doesn’t mean you should continue, or end, it,” Baekhyun scolded, but his tone of voice was all too filled with laughter for it to really matter.

 And as Gangaji whined softly in protest, Baekhyun actually chuckled, patting the hybrid’s arms once more.

 “Thank you for trying to save me, though, that was really nice of you,” Baekhyun said, leaning back against Gangaji a little. It was nice, not having to support himself fully.

 “No problem,” Gangaji responded, and from how firm his voice sounded, Baekhyun had a feeling that Gangaji did not mind at all saving Baekhyun from various customers hitting on him.

 Which, honestly, felt pretty darn good. But Baekhyun did not know if he wanted to admit that.

 Another patron arrived, and Gangaji managed to cling to Baekhyun throughout the serving. It was made quite easy thanks to the fact that this patron wanted four beers, but still. It was somewhat cumbersome, and it both amused and annoyed Baekhyun, not being able to move properly. And he felt a twinge of guilt at the even smaller twinge of relief he felt when Joohyun joined them behind the bar, dragging Gangaji away to entertain.

 But considering how much Baekhyun immediately missed the heavy warmth on his back, he did not feel too bad about the teeny tiny part of relief.

 Getting another order, Baekhyun made his way over to the preparation area next to where Jongin was preparing a drink, needing some of the ingredients over there.

 “Well, that was fun!” Jongin stage-whispered to Baekhyun, who frowned down into the drink he was making.

 “What do you mean, fun?” Baekhyun asked, glancing over towards where Joohyun was talking with Gangaji.

 “Fun, as in entertaining,” Jongin answered, reaching across Baekhyun to pick up some lime. “It was entertaining watching Gangaji get jealous.”

 “He didn’t get jealous,” Baekhyun automatically answered - before stopping, because was he really sure about that?

 “Yeah, sure, not jealous at all… It’s like he marked you, dude,” Jongin chuckled, and Baekhyun sent him a weird look.

 “Marked me?” Baekhyun asked, not understanding what Jongin meant.

 “Yeah, you know, like how dogs pee on things to mark their territory, but less disgusting?” Jongin said, tilting his head a little in thought. “Or, I guess, like how cats rub themselves against surfaces to mark them as theirs? Yeah, that sounds like a better comparison.”

 The remark hit a bit too close to home, and Baekhyun was a bit shaken from it, trying to stay focused on his job as his mind ran a thousand miles an hour. The two most prominent thoughts were  _ ‘does Jongin know?’ _ and  _ ‘is Jongin right?’ _ .

 Only one way to find out - or, well, two since they were two questions - and that was to ask.

 The thing was, though, that Baekhyun did not feel like asking Jongin if he knew what Gangaji was. Because if Jongin did  _ not _ , then Baekhyun would have hinted towards Gangaji being something else, and that would make Jongin curious - and curiosity was not good. So maybe he would hold off on that.

 Asking Gangaji, on the other hand, did not have as dire consequences. Maybe a bit of embarrassment, but Baekhyun could simply just blame it all on Jongin. No worries at all!

 Done with that decision, Baekhyun nodded once to himself, and got back to work - properly, this time around.

 

 Time sped by them, no more people trying to flirt with Baekhyun, and soon Baekhyun’s shift was over. Saying goodbye to everyone, Baekhyun and Gangaji headed out into the night and into the car, soon on their way to the apartment.

 When they arrived back home, Baekhyun looked over to find Gangaji - surprise, surprise - asleep in his seat. He looked just as cute as he had the night before, and Baekhyun allowed himself to stare a little before testing out if the suggested method of waking would work.

 Reaching out, Baekhyun gently put a hand on Gangaji’s cheek, using his thumb to softly rub a cheekbone, waiting. It did not take long before Gangaji stirred, pressing further into Baekhyun’s hand, before blinking his eyes open.

 “Hey,” Baekhyun whispered, smiling as Gangaji’s eyes focused on him, a smile appearing on the hybrid’s lips as well. “It worked.”

 Gangaji nodded, eyes slipping closed for a few seconds, before he glanced out through the windshield.

 “Yeah, we’re here, time to go inside,” Baekhyun said, waiting until Gangaji was moving to move himself, and they hurried over to the apartment.

 As they stepped inside, taking off their outer clothing, Gangaji seemed much more awake.

 “Do you want to go to bed?” Baekhyun asked, himself not feeling particularly tired yet. It was still rather early - at least by his standards.

 Almost immediately, Gangaji shook his head - and took Baekhyun’s hand to drag him over to the sofa.

 “I guess we’re not going to bed yet, then,” Baekhyun chuckled, allowing himself to be pulled down. “Wanna watch a movie, or whatever reruns we can find?”

 Shrugging, Gangaji handed the remote to Baekhyun, who began to look through the different channels.

 Finally settling on a movie that had just started, Baekhyun pulled his legs into the sofa, and got comfortable, seeing out of the corner of his eye as Gangaji did the same.

 But even with all of the explosions and violent car chases, Baekhyun’s mind was not quite there, not quite able to focus on the TV. The whole ‘dog bar fight’ was once more front and center - and he figured that now would be as good time as any to ask about it.

 “Hey, Gangaji?” Baekhyun distractedly called out, eyes on the TV as he tried to sort through his thoughts, and the best way to speak them.

 “Chanyeol.”

 Eyes growing round in surprise, disbelief filling him because  _ he couldn’t have heard right _ , Baekhyun’s head snapped to the side to stare at the hybrid.

 “W-what?” Baekhyun managed to stammer out, watching as pink began to creep up Gangaji’s neck and continue up his face.

 “Chanyeol,” the hybrid whispered, quieter this time, but still so loud to Baekhyun. “That’s my name…”

 “Chanyeol?” Baekhyun repeated, letting the name roll off of his tongue, and it felt  _ right. _ “That’s a pretty name.”

 “My parents gave it to me,” Gangaji -  _ Chanyeol _ \- said, playing with his fingers in his lap, sorrow heavy in his voice. “I don’t remember them, but the hybrids at the club made sure I remembered my name…”

 “Did they give you a new name at the club?” Baekhyun asked, receiving a nod in answer. “I’m happy the other hybrids made sure you remembered your real name. After all, it’s a gift from your parents, and something nobody should ever take away from you.”

 Chanyeol gave a faint smile, just barely there, but it was enough, and Baekhyun got a bit lost in smiling back. He had completely forgotten the fact that he had been meaning to ask a question, until the hybrid reminded him.

 “What was it?” Chanyeol asked, startling Baekhyun.

 “What was what?” Baekhyun asked in confusion, trying to understand what Chanyeol meant.

 “Your question?” Chanyeol prompted, making Baekhyun hit his forehead.

 “Ah! Shit, right, I was about to ask you something, I totally forgot about it,” Baekhyun said, sending the hybrid a playful frown. “You distracted me with finally telling me your name, after like 84 years!”

 “A week,” Chanyeol argued, a giggle in his voice that warmed Baekhyun’s heart.

 “Okay, fine, maybe it’s more like a week, but anyway!” Baekhyun said, waving the argument away. “Yeah, I was going to ask you about earlier. Jongin said something that got me thinking, actually, and I wanted to know if he was just being an idiot, or actually onto something.”

 Chanyeol raised both eyebrows, before making a ‘go on’ motion with his hand that had Baekhyun snort.

 “When that girl flirted with me tonight, and you quite literally draped yourself across me, was that to like stake claim on me?” Baekhyun asked, watching in fascination as Chanyeol’s cheeks tinted darker and darker. “Jongin said it looked as if you were marking me, to keep others away, which had me thinking, and so I did the only thing I could and asked. Was he right?”

 “I hate Jongin,” Chanyeol grumbled, and the surprise of it had Baekhyun burst into laughter.

 “So he was right? You did it to ‘mark’ me?” Baekhyun asked, a wide grin on his face that he just could not tone down, no matter how hard he tried. And from the way Chanyeol collapsed into the sofa, rolling into a ball with the top of his head pressed against Baekhyun’s thigh, Baekhyun did not really need an answer. “Aw, you adorable little thing! Do you want to know a secret, though?”

 At that, Chanyeol turned his head a little, not enough to actually show much of his face, but enough for Baekhyun to know that he was listening intently. So Baekhyun leaned down a little, just a bit, getting a bit closer to one of Chanyeol’s fluffy ears.

 “I have no interest in women, I was just being polite,” Baekhyun whispered. “Brings in more money for me, you know.”

 “Meanie,” Chanyeol whispered right back, but Baekhyun could see, from the shape of his cheek, that he was smiling.

 “Hey, not my fault that they think politeness is flirting,” Baekhyun protested, sitting up straight again. “Honestly makes me feel bad for them, wondering how they’re treated by the men around them to make them react like that to me being polite as I talk to them.”

 Moving a little, Chanyeol placed his head on top of Baekhyun’s lap, reaching out with one finger to scratch at the outer seam of Baekhyun’s jeans. There was a solemn look on his face, and Baekhyun did not like it at all.

 “Horribly,” Chanyeol finally whispered, finding a thread to pull at, and Baekhyun could not find it in himself to care if Chanyeol ruined his pants. Whatever, he had several more pairs. “At least from what I’ve seen…”

 “I can only imagine how they must be treated in the world you come from, but I truly hope women are treated much better than that out in this world,” Baekhyun mumbled, reaching out to play with the hair at the hybrid’s nape.

 And even though Chanyeol did not respond to that with any words, just nodded firmly, Baekhyun was convinced that he agreed wholeheartedly.

 After that, silence settled as they got back to the movie. Chanyeol stayed in Baekhyun’s lap, and Baekhyun’s fingers stayed in the hybrid’s hair.

 By the time the credits were rolling, Chanyeol’s ears were twitching, fingers flexing against Baekhyun’s thigh. Leaning forwards a little, Baekhyun could see that the hybrid’s eyes were closed - he was obviously falling asleep.

 Running a hand up and down Chanyeol’s arm, Baekhyun waited, and it did not take long before Chanyeol moved, face pressing down into Baekhyun’s lap, letting out a soft whine that Baekhyun barely even heard.

 “I think it’s time to move to the bed,” Baekhyun whispered with a chuckle.

 Chanyeol grumbled some, but he allowed himself to be moved out of the sofa and towards the bathroom, eyes half-closed the entire way.

 When they were lying in bed together, the only light coming from the opened door, Baekhyun turned to face Chanyeol, reaching out to place his hand between them.

 “If you want cuddles, I’m more than happy to give them,” he whispered, just barely making out two glinting orbs in the darkness. “I like cuddles, so I don’t mind at all.”

 It took some time, but then a soft ‘okay’ was uttered, and Baekhyun smiled.

 “Good. Goodnight, Chanyeol. Sweet dreams.”

 “Goodnight, Baekhyun.”

 Closing his eyes, Baekhyun rubbed his face deeper into the pillow, and it was not long before he fell asleep.

 

 The next morning, Baekhyun once more woke up to warmth. This time, though, it was a bit more  _ hot _ than  _ warm _ , and it had Baekhyun wake up faster.

 Gangaji- no,  _ Chanyeol _ , was once more lying on Baekhyun’s chest. Like yesterday, he was holding on to Baekhyun’s shirt - but unlike yesterday, his breathing seemed to be coming in strained, too-quick huffs. As sensations returned, Baekhyun could feel how his shirt was clinging uncomfortably to his skin from where Chanyeol’s skin touched it, most probably from sweat.

 Worried, Baekhyun placed a hand on Chanyeol’s cheek, moving it to his forehead after noticing how warm the hybrid was, and Chanyeol whined uncomfortably.

 Rubbing a hand up and down Chanyeol’s back, Baekhyun continued to feel the hybrid’s face. He was burning up, way too warm, feverish, and Baekhyun was on the verge of panicking. He needed to call Joohyun as soon as possible.

 With a groan, Chanyeol woke up, and Baekhyun felt relief at that. He had no idea why had worried about Chanyeol waking up or not, but he had.

 “Hi, sweetie, how are you feeling?” Baekhyun asked, gently tilting the hybrid’s face up, not at all liking the flushed state it was in.

 And from how Chanyeol whined and turned his face to bury it against Baekhyun’s neck, he did not like it either.

 “I’m going to call Joohyun, I think you’re having a fever,” Baekhyun whispered, reaching out to grab his phone.

 Joohyun answered on the second ring, sounding as if she had just woken up as well, and Baekhyun felt bad about waking her up.

 But he also did not know who else to call, so he pushed those feelings away.

 “You need to come here, I think Gangaji has a fever,” Baekhyun said in place of a greeting, deliberately not saying Chanyeol’s name. He had shared it willingly with Baekhyun, and unless he himself wanted to tell Joohyun, Baekhyun would not say it.

 “A fever?” Joohyun repeated, rustling being heard from her side.

 “He’s literally burning up and I have no idea what’s going on, or what prompted it,” Baekhyun answered, fighting to keep the fear down. “He was fine yesterday…”

 “Okay, I’m on my way,” Joohyun said, and Baekhyun had no doubt that she was actually  _ literally _ on her way. “He needs to drink water, okay?”

 “Okay, I’ll fix that,” Baekhyun said, thankful to have something to do, to focus on.

 “And try not to worry too much, though I know that might be hard.”

 Baekhyun gave a chuckle at that, this kind of edge to the sound, before they said goodbye and hung up.

 After putting his phone down, Baekhyun turned back to Chanyeol, moving the hair out of his face.

 “Joohyun is on her way, she should be here soon,” Baekhyun said. “She told me to have you drink water, you think you can make it to the kitchen?”

 Nodding, Chanyeol pushed himself away from Baekhyun and up, wobbling a little. Quickly, Baekhyun got out of bed, to help Chanyeol out of it and over to the kitchen.

 Pulling out a glass, Baekhyun filled it with water, handing it over to Chanyeol as he sat down in the chair next to the hybrid, keeping a close eye on him as he drank.

 After finishing all of the water and putting the glass down, Chanyeol reached out with trembling fingers to touch Baekhyun’s cheek, and they were surprisingly cold, considering how warm the rest of him was.

 “Don’t worry,” Chanyeol whispered, making Baekhyun raise an eyebrow.

 “Don’t worry? About your sudden high fever?” Baekhyun asked, and Chanyeol gave a small smile. “Yeah, uh, sorry, no can do. Of course I worry?”

 Before Chanyeol could respond, the doorbell rang, and the both of them startled - Chanyeol wincing immediately after.

 “Already? She must have speeded,” Baekhyun mumbled, mostly to himself, as he got up from his chair. “See, I’m not the only one worrying!”

 The sound of a hoarse chuckle followed Baekhyun to the door, and he pulled it open to find a tired-looking Joohyun standing on the other side. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, obviously done in haste, but Baekhyun appreciated her quickness.

 “He’s in the kitchen,” Baekhyun said, and Joohyun nodded as she stepped out of her boots, and headed towards said room, Baekhyun hot on her heel.

 “Hi, sweetheart, how are you feeling?” Joohyun asked as she sat down into the chair Baekhyun had just sat in, scooting a bit closer to Chanyeol.

 Chanyeol simply gave a tired smile, eyes barely even open, face still so flushed.

 “Not good, huh? You mind if I touch you, to see if I can find what’s wrong?” Joohyun asked, holding her hands up. “I’ll just need to touch your throat and head.”

 Nodding, Chanyeol leaned his head towards Joohyun, and immediately she reached forwards.

 It looked rather professional, how Joohyun checked various things, like how doctors would check Baekhyun when he was younger and got sick. Nowadays he simply popped some pills and buried himself beneath his cover for the three or so days before his illness passed, not feeling it necessary to see someone about it when it broke just a few days later anyway.

 “Nothing feels swollen or anything like that, and I don’t think you have a cold, since you don’t seem to have any other symptoms apart from the fever,” Joohyun said, but there was no relief in her voice, only confusion.

 Baekhyun felt no relief either. A cold was pretty easily treated, after all, but an unknown illness was not.

 “I honestly think it’s best to let a doctor take a look at you, because I’m nowhere near skilled enough to come up with a solution, nor do I know enough about hybrids to make sure I don’t do more damage to you,” Joohyun said, glancing over at Baekhyun as well.

 “No doctor,” Chanyeol whispered, startling Joohyun a little. It must be the first time she heard him speak.

 Quickly regaining her composure, Joohyun reached out to stroke Chanyeol’s cheek, and he leaned into the touch. It must be cold compared to his own skin.

 “Don’t worry, I’m not taking you to a hospital or anything like that,” Joohyun said with a gentle smile. “Yixing knows a doctor that he sometime calls in, for when a normal doctor is out of the question. She’ll for sure be able to help you, I promise.”

 Feeling uncomfortable with the suggestion, Baekhyun crossed his arms over his chest, a frown making its way onto his face.

 “There’s a doctor that gets called in?” Baekhyun asked, and he was sure that the disapproval was clear as day in his voice.

 It was further confirmed when Joohyun turned towards him, an evaluating look in her eyes.

 “Yes,” Joohyun said after a few seconds. “She’s a longtime friend of Yixing, and discreet. She also knows a bit about hybrids, so Gangaji will be safe with her.”

 Still not liking the idea, Baekhyun bit back a retort. If it was someone who actually had some knowledge about hybrids, then that was good, but… Baekhyun did  _ not _ like it.

 “I’ll go let Yixing know, and then I’ll get in touch with a time,” Joohyun said, taking Baekhyun’s silence for surrender. “It shouldn’t be too long, hopefully in a day or two, but I think it’s better you two stay at home until then. Just make cold compresses and have Gangaji rest as much as possible. I don’t know how human medicine will interact with his body, so probably safer not to try that…”

 Baekhyun nodded to show that he was listening, making a mental list in his head.

 “You, young man, have to take it easy, okay?” Joohyun said, a motherly sternness to her voice as she looked back at Chanyeol. “You need a lot of rest, and to drink a lot of water, to feel better.”

 Slowly, Chanyeol nodded, and it was obvious that the movement was hard for him. Moving over, Baekhyun allowed the hybrid to lean against him, and Chanyeol sighed in appreciation.

 “I’ll try to hurry everything up,” Joohyun said, the worry clear in her eyes, as well as her pursed lips and furrowed brow.

 “Please do,” Baekhyun answered,  _ feeling _ how hot Chanyeol was through his clothes.

 After walking Joohyun over to the door, making sure it was properly locked afterwards, Baekhyun went back to the kitchen to find Chanyeol sitting in the same chair, a pained expression on his face.

 “Hey, are you okay?” Baekhyun whispered as he reached the hybrid, hands somewhat flailing, not really knowing how to help or what to do, before settling on running his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair.

 Blinking his eyes open, Chanyeol looked up at Baekhyun with what  _ should _ have been a glare - but from how bleary the hybrid’s eyes were, it held nowhere near the normal intensity.

 “Stupid question, huh?” Baekhyun said, managing a soft chuckle. “You want to go back to bed, or to the sofa to watch some TV?”

 “Sofa,” Chanyeol answered almost immediately, and it had Baekhyun smiling.

 Helping the hybrid over to the living room, Baekhyun hurried to fetch his pillow and cover and properly tucked him in, before heading off again. Filling up a bottle with water, Baekhyun then wetted a towel and folded it over, carrying everything with him back to the living room.

 Chanyeol was lying with the remote gripped in one hand, apparently already having found a show to watch. He glanced up as Baekhyun walked over, before his eyes went back to the TV.

 “I know you just laid down, but I need you to sit up for a moment to drink at least some of this water,” Baekhyun urged, sitting down on the edge of the sofa.

 Not making any fuss, Chanyeol sat up and accepted the bottle, drinking about half of the content before handing it back. Taking the bottle and putting it down on the table, Baekhyun allowed the hybrid to lie back down, carefully putting the wet towel on his forehead.

 “I’d recommend sleeping as much as possible, you need to let your body rest to fight whatever’s going on,” Baekhyun said as he moved strands of hair out of Chanyeol’s face, the hybrid’s eyes closing at the touch.

 “Okay,” Chanyeol whispered, holding the remote into the air, and Baekhyun chuckled as he took it and put it down on the table, next to the water bottle.

 

 It was a lazy day, Baekhyun only moving to refill Chanyeol’s water bottle, make him light meals, or to go to the bathroom.

 At one point, Chanyeol managed to convince Baekhyun to give up his lap for the hybrid. Not that it took much, to be honest, because Baekhyun was weak for the pitiful being curled up on his sofa. And considering how much more comfortable Chanyeol seemed when finally lying in Baekhyun’s lap, Baekhyun was sure he would never again move if Chanyeol did not want him to.

 The fever lowered a little over the course of the day, but never enough for Baekhyun to stop worrying. And he actually felt relief when Joohyun texted him with the details for Chanyeol’s doctor appointment, or whatever he should call it.

 Tomorrow they would meet this mystery doctor, and hopefully they would be able to help Chanyeol, because Baekhyun was sure he could not handle much more of this.


	7. Chapter 7

 The night was not easy, due to Chanyeol’s high temperature and restlessness. Baekhyun did not sleep a lot, kept awake by every turn and whine. Every now and then, he would wake the hybrid up, to get him to drink some more water, before holding him close to help him fall asleep once more.

 It was as they neared early morning, the faintest of brightnings to the darkness visible, that Baekhyun realized that the fever was a sign of something perhaps being  _ majorly _ wrong.

 It started with Chanyeol getting even more restless, tossing and turning even more. Not wanting to physically hold the hybrid down, knowing that it would most surely trigger bad memories, Baekhyun could do nothing more than hold on to Chanyeol’s hand and hope it would soon pass.

 Gradually, Chanyeol’s own grip on Baekhyun’s hand tightened, until he truly clung to him, desperation clear in the action. Rolling over onto his side, Baekhyun tried to soothe the best he could with back rubs, but it did not seem to do a lot.

 With a ragged gasp, Chanyeol came awake, immediately curling in a little on himself.

 “Hey, sweetie, it’s okay,” Baekhyun murmured, moving sweat-drenched hair out of the hybrid’s face, making him shiver. “It’s okay, I’m here. Do you need anything?”

 Stretching forwards, Chanyeol managed to get his head close to Baekhyun’s neck, nose not far from touching. Baekhyun had started to suspect some time ago that it calmed the hybrid, being able to burrow his nose against Baekhyun’s throat, so he scooted forwards enough for Chanyeol to be able to. Immediately, Chanyeol inhaled deeply, letting the air out around another whine.

 “H-hot,” Chanyeol breathed, almost sounding pained.

 “You want me to get you some water?” Baekhyun asked, running his hand up and down Chanyeol’s side.

 “N-not that k-kind,” Chanyeol answered, making Baekhyun frown.

 “Not that kind of hot?” Baekhyun asked, getting a shaky nod in reply. “What kind then? Can I help?”

 Groaning, Chanyeol bit down on Baekhyun’s collarbone, not hard enough to do any damage, but his pointed canines would probably leave some imprints that would last for at least a few hours. Wincing, Baekhyun kept quiet, unsure of what was going on, but not wanting to scare Chanyeol away in any way.

 Worming his way forwards, until their bodies were just a few centimeters apart, Chanyeol pushed his pelvis forwards until it came in contact with Baekhyun’s thigh - and then his words made sense.

 “Oh,” was all Baekhyun managed to say, face heating up a few degrees as his thoughts began to race.

 One thing he kind of knew, though, was that the high fever combined with the sudden arousal was most probably not a good thing. Maybe they were even connected - but then the question was what might cause it, and how dangerous the cause was.

 Baekhyun really hoped the doctor appointment later that day would answer at least the most pressing question.

 “Is it very uncomfortable?” Baekhyun asked as Chanyeol pulled back, letting up on his bite before nodding. “Do you want me to help, or do you want me to leave you alone to take care of it?”

 “Don’t know,” Chanyeol replied, voice so small and vulnerable that it broke Baekhyun’s heart.

 There was so much tied to this, and Baekhyun really could not blame Chanyeol for feeling so obviously torn about things. He had been abused, used by people for their own pleasure, then escaped that life just to end up like this.

 “I just want to help you, I’ll do whatever you’re the most comfortable with,” Baekhyun said, keeping his voice low. It felt like a moment where it was only appropriate to use a hushed voice.

 Everything was still for a few long moments, the only thing heard being their combined breathing, Chanyeol’s louder than Baekhyun’s.

 “...stay?” was what Chanyeol finally said, so low that Baekhyun barely even heard it.

 “Of course, whatever you want,” Baekhyun said, running his hand up and down Chanyeol’s back. “I’ll stay here, just let me know how you want to do it.”

 “Y-you don’t have to, uhm, t-touch me,” Chanyeol said, and Baekhyun was ninety-five percent sure he did not imagine feeling Chanyeol’s face heating up against his throat, the hybrid most likely blushing on top of being feverish. “Just- don’t g-go?”

 “I’ll stay, and unless you tell me differently, I won’t touch you,” Baekhyun murmured, realizing that he was trying to give the control back to Chanyeol in a way that the hybrid had probably never experienced before. “You control this.”

 It was about time, long overdue to be honest, that Chanyeol got to be the one in control of his own pleasure even with someone else close by. It was his basic right, being able to do what he wanted and was comfortable with doing, and not be forced into something, and Baekhyun would make damned sure that that was what happened today.

 “Thank you,” Chanyeol whispered, a hitch to his breath that Baekhyun wondered if it had to do with his state, or him being emotional. Maybe it was both.

 Using the hand that had laid trapped between them, Chanyeol gripped Baekhyun’s shirt, as if to make sure that he would stay - or perhaps to ground himself in something. Not really knowing what to do with his own hands, Baekhyun placed his free hand on Chanyeol’s cheek, slowly stroking his cheekbone with his thumb, letting the one trapped underneath Chanyeol rub up and down the hybrid’s back.

 How did one do this, how did one  _ deal _ with something like this? What could Baekhyun say, what could he do, to make things easier? Was there even anything he  _ could _ do, apart from holding Chanyeol close?

 Baekhyun had never been in a situation like this before, not even with a person  _ not _ forced into this kind of rut or whatever, made even  _ further _ complicated by a for sure horrible, traumatic relationship to all things sex. He really had no idea what to do, so scared of doing something,  _ anything _ , wrong, that all he could do was to hold on and hope for the best.

 As well as force his mind to keep blank and his body still, as the hot puffs of air against his throat turned shorter and faster, the movements of another body close by so very indicative of what was happening. Baekhyun could not even imagine how it must feel, to  _ need _ to do something like this even though you did not want to, searching for some kind of comfort and getting it in the form of another person - another person to have to worry about as well as yourself. Baekhyun could only feel Chanyeol’s face and back, beneath his hands and against his skin, but he could still feel how tense he was, holding back so much. Was it only because he was so uncomfortable with it himself, or was it also because he did not want to make  _ Baekhyun _ uncomfortable?

 Hoping it was not because of him, Baekhyun turned his face to be able to press a kiss to Chanyeol’s head. It was nothing more than that, just lips against hair, a silent reassurance that Baekhyun was there, and everything would be fine. Everything would be fine, no matter what Baekhyun would have to do to assure that.

 Pressing his face even closer to Baekhyun’s neck, not even breathing by now, Chanyeol tensed even further in Baekhyun’s embrace for a few seconds, before he curled in on himself, shudders running through his body, a noise being bitten off before Baekhyun could identify it. With a gasp, Chanyeol started to breathe again, body slowly, oh so slowly, starting to relax.

 Not a sound was heard for several long moments, Baekhyun’s heart racing as if he had just run a marathon, starting to calm down as he forced himself to relax alongside Chanyeol.

 “Feeling better?” Baekhyun then asked in a whisper, knowing his voice would sound so ruined should he speak louder, and he did not want Chanyeol to have to deal with that. Not now.

 Trembling, Chanyeol slowly nodded, the grip he had on Baekhyun’s shirt slowly easing up.

 “You want to take a shower?” Baekhyun proposed, and this time, Chanyeol nodded a bit quicker. “Let's go then.”

 Forcing all other thoughts away, Baekhyun helped Chanyeol over to the bathroom. The fever and lack of sleep, plus the orgasm, had left the hybrid exhausted, and he could barely stand on his own.

 As Chanyeol undressed, Baekhyun went to fetch him some fresh clothing, but also to breathe, and to let Chanyeol undress in peace. He did not like taking his clothes off in front of Baekhyun normally, and would probably like it even less now that he was covered by his own ejaculation.

 By the time Baekhyun got back, Chanyeol was sitting in the tub, eyes closed, just letting the water wash over him. Cracking a small smile at the picture painted in front of him, Baekhyun left the fresh clothes and took the dirty ones with him to throw into the washing machine, turning it on immediately. Might just as well wash the clothes at once.

 Going back to the bathroom once more, Baekhyun sat down on the lid of the toilet, keeping his eyes on the hybrid’s sleepy face. It was still looking rather red, but Baekhyun could easily convince himself that it was looking less red than before. He really hoped so, at least, for Chanyeol’s sake. Fever was not a fun thing to deal with.

 “I wouldn’t recommend falling asleep in the tub, it’s a pretty brutal awakening when the hot water runs out,” Baekhyun softly said, Chanyeol’s ears twitching before he turned his face to look up at Baekhyun.

 “I won’t fall asleep,” Chanyeol said with a small smile, but it was obvious that he  _ would _ be asleep in three seconds flat should Baekhyun leave him alone.

 “If you say so,” Baekhyun chortled, making the hybrid whine a little. “Come on, time to wash up, the faster you do, the faster you can go back to bed!”

 With a heavy sigh, Chanyeol still did as told, and began to wash himself. And by the end of his shower, even if still seemed rather sleepy, he also seemed to feel a bit better.

 The magic of a nice shower, Baekhyun supposed.

 When Chanyeol started to look pretty done, Baekhyun stood up and fetched a towel, before walking over to the tub and stopping in front of it. Holding the towel up, Baekhyun focused his gaze on a point higher up, head tilted back slightly, to make sure that Chanyeol saw that he would not quite be able to sneak a peek even if he wanted to.

 Baekhyun could hear as Chanyeol got out of the tub, and soon the hybrid’s face appeared in front of him, hair dripping, eyes droopy with exhaustion.

 “Hi,” Baekhyun said with a smile, getting a tired smile in return, before Chanyeol leaned forwards to place his very wet head on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Hey, you're making me all wet!”

 But despite his own protests, Baekhyun still began to dry Chanyeol off as well as he could while letting him lean on him, before the hybrid took over, and Baekhyun turned around to let him get dressed in peace.

 “Done,” Chanyeol whispered after a while, voice a bit hoarse, but Baekhyun did not allow himself to think further about that.

 “Then let's get you back to bed,” Baekhyun said, turning around to find Chanyeol hanging the towel up.

 Holding out a hand, Baekhyun flexed his fingers a few times in a grabby motion, until Chanyeol grasped it. Helping the hybrid back into bed, Baekhyun then pulled the cover up and tucked him in properly.

 “Try to get some more sleep before we have to go,” Baekhyun whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Chanyeol’s cheek. It was cooler now. “I’m going to take a shower too.”

 Nodding sleepily, Chanyeol buried his face deeper into the pillow, almost instantly falling asleep. Staying by the hybrid’s side for a few minutes longer, Baekhyun watched over him with conflicting feelings fighting inside of his heart. Sighing softly, he then made his way out of the bedroom, straight into a  _ very _ cold shower.

 He was not going to touch himself over this. No way in hell.

 

 “Are you ready?” Baekhyun asked as he parked the car, unbuckling his seatbelt as he looked over at Chanyeol.

 “Yes…?” the hybrid said, dragging the word out and sounding very unsure - but it was an affirmative at least, no matter how shaky it was.

 “Let’s get this over with quickly then,” Baekhyun said, before opening the door and climbing out.

 Waiting for Chanyeol to walk around the car, Baekhyun held out his hand for the hybrid to take, before they walked together to the back entrance. The door opened when they were a few meters away, Joohyun standing in the doorway rather as per usual.

 “Come inside, children, it’s cold outside,” Joohyun loftily said, making Baekhyun roll his eyes even though he smiled, hearing Chanyeol softly snicker behind him. “Don’t think I didn’t see that, Byun Baekhyun, you can try to act as exasperated as you want to, but I know you love me!”

 “I do love you,  _ auntie _ , but that doesn’t mean I can’t be exasperated with you too,” Baekhyun answered, patronizingly patting Joohyun’s shoulder as he walked past her. “Where are we going?”

 “Minseok’s office, he’s out of town and nobody will disturb us there,” Joohyun said as she closed the door behind her, and Baekhyun nodded before he led Chanyeol towards said room.

 The room belonged to one of the managers working at the bar, a very introverted man Baekhyun had not had many interactions with, but Baekhyun liked him. His sharp cat-like eyes hinted towards a brilliant mind, which was contrasted with the almost cute roundness of his face that lent him a youthful look that fooled some into not seeing him as a threat. But Baekhyun had seen the few times Minseok had helped break up a fight, and Baekhyun would never, in a million years, underestimate the short man. He was  _ scary _ when he wanted to be.

 The inside of the room was sparsely furnished and decorated, containing a desk and three chairs, as well as a few bookcases. Following them inside, Joohyun went to stand beside the wooden table.

 “Up you go, Gangaji,” Joohyun said, patting the tabletop.

 Moving to sit down, Chanyeol looked up (down, actually, as he was still a bit taller than Joohyun) at Joohyun and smiled.

 “My name is Chanyeol,” he said, as softly as always, as he swung his legs a tiny bit back and forth. He looked like a cute child waiting for his doctor’s appointment, like one of those silent, more mature kids that knew this was a necessary evil, and there was no point in trying to fight it.

 Joohyun froze for a moment, eyes wide, before she stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around Chanyeol in a tight hug.

 “Thank you for telling me,” she whispered, sounding quite emotional - but Baekhyun understood. “Thank you for trusting me with it.”

 Still smiling, Chanyeol placed his hands on Joohyun’s back, patting gently to help her calm down.

 “Chanyeol, huh?” Joohyun said as she pulled back again, patting Chanyeol’s thigh. “That’s a very pretty name. Very fitting, I think.”

 Chanyeol’s smile morphed into a grin, making him look like an adorable puppy yet again, absolutely melting Baekhyun’s heart.

 A thought then popped into Baekhyun’s mind, nearly startling him both from how sudden it was, and from how, really, incredibly it was that it was first  _ now _ that the thought made itself known.

 “Okay, but wait, how come Boss knows a doctor who has knowledge about hybrids?” Baekhyun hurriedly asked, not understanding why he had not questioned this yet.

 Joohyun looked over at him, amusement in her eyes, as if she wondered the same thing as Baekhyun. But Baekhyun would blame his obliviousness on his lack of sleep if asked about it.

 “This bar pulls in quite the varied crowd, so knowing someone with broad knowledge is an advantage,” Joohyun answered with a shrug.

 Opening his mouth to retort to that, Baekhyun quickly shut it again as the sound of a handle being pushed down was heard, his head turning in the direction of it.

 The door opened, allowing Yixing inside, and smiling towards Chanyeol, he held the door open for the person following him. A woman stepped inside, dressed smartly in a pantsuit, heels clicking against the floor. Baekhyun did not not quite know what he had expected, but he was pretty sure it was not this expensive-looking, red-lipped woman.

 “Hello,” the woman said, bowing to all of them, before moving further inside of the room, towards Chanyeol. “My name is Kang Seulgi, nice to meet you.”

 Chanyeol bowed as well, his hands having moved from curling around the edge of the table, to curl in his lap. It was the most uncomfortable Baekhyun had seen the hybrid in a while now, and he did not like it, at all.

 “I heard you’ve been having some problems,” the doctor said, gently putting her bag down on the table next to Chanyeol, but a bit away from him. “I know it’s a fever, is there anything more you can tell me about it?”

 “Not really…,” Chanyeol whispered, wrapping one of his sleeves around his fingers, over and over again.

 “Okay then, I’ll examine you and see if I can determine the cause,” Doctor Kang said with a soft smile, holding up her hands in front of Chanyeol. “May I touch you?”

 After receiving an affirmative nod, Doctor Kang began to examine Chanyeol much in the same way as Joohyun had, but more thoroughly, and with more assured movements. Her lips pursed as she moved her fingers, before pulling out a stethoscope.

 “Your breathing sounds fine, your heart is beating a bit quickly, but nothing too out of the ordinary,” the doctor mumbled, retrieving a small flashlight from her bag and holding it up in front of Chanyeol. “I’m going to check your eyes, this light will be a bit irritating, but please try to look forwards and not blink, okay?”

 After Chanyeol nodded, Doctor Kang began to move the flashlight back and forth, and Baekhyun had to admit that it looked professional. Maybe he should stop doubting the doctor’s skill, because so far, she was doing - as far as Baekhyun knew - a really good job.

 “Your pupils are a bit dilated, more than normal,” Doctor Kang said, putting the flashlight away, and Chanyeol quickly blinked his eyes, most probably to get rid of the light spots. Baekhyun felt for him - those were really annoying. “I’m going to check your blood pressure as well, I have a theory, and that will hopefully confirm or refute it.”

 It was rather amazing how many things the doctor managed to pack into her bag, Baekhyun could not help but think as he watched her pull out a blood pressure cuff out of it, even though it was a smaller version than the ones Baekhyun had seen in hospitals. It was as if Doctor Kang’s bag was the real-life version of Hermione’s bag, filled with medical supplies and stuff.

 Or the doctor was just very good at packing stuff, which was more plausible, especially considering each and every woman Baekhyun knew were  _ great _ at packing a lot of things into small compartments.

 “I think I know what this is,” Doctor Kang said, after she had checked Chanyeol’s blood pressure, a slight wrinkle between her eyebrows. “Did they have you take any medication? Give you piller to swallow, or maybe some kind of injection?”

 “Injection with syringe,” Chanyeol answered, fingers flexing around his sleeves, and Baekhyun inhaled sharply.

 Behind him, Joohyun softly sighed, one of her hands coming up to place itself against Baekhyun’s back.

 “That’s what I thought,” Doctor Kang said with a nod, face relaxing. “You’ve been injected with a type of temporary castration medication, probably from as soon as you reached the end of your puberty, to keep you sterile. They didn’t want you able to procreate, at least not until they wanted you to do so, hence it being temporary. Since you haven’t gotten the injections for quite some time now, depending on when your last shot was before you escaped, it’s making its way out of your body, letting it return to its natural state. Which causes the fever, and I’m betting you’ve been feeling a bit strange too?”

 Cheeks darkening, Chanyeol gave a nod, and Baekhyun almost nodded as well, flashbacking to the morning.

 “Ah, I suspected that,” Doctor Kang said, smiling softly. “Don’t worry about it, it’s all natural, it’s just your body adapting back to what it’s supposed to be. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot I can do to help, it needs to run its course, but it should not take too many more days to stabilize. I can get you some medication to help keep your temperature down, though, to make it  _ slightly _ more comfortable for you.”

 “Okay, thank you,” Chanyeol mumbled, a small smile on his lips.

 Baekhyun had wished that the doctor would be able to help more, but actually figuring out the cause of the fever was really nice as well.

 The  _ cause _ , though… Baekhyun had never wanted to commit a mass murder this often over the course of just a few days ever before in his entire life, nor had the desire ever been so strong. How could people be so cruel? How could they feel so entitled?

 “No problems, sweetheart. I want to get some bloodworks done as well, to make sure there’s nothing more nasty in your system,” Doctor Kang said, smiling softly. “Is that okay?”

 A bit hesitantly, Chanyeol still nodded.

 “Okay, then I’ll need to borrow your arm, whichever you want,” Doctor Kang said, rummaging through her bag. “Either works, just depends on what you’re the most comfortable with.”

 After a few seconds of looking down at his arms, Chanyeol pulled up the sleeve of his left arm and held it out as the doctor turned back towards them.

 “Good choice,” she said, grinning as she accepted the arm, pushing the sleeve a bit further up. “I don’t know if you’ve ever had your blood drawn before, but I recommend not looking as I do it. Most people feel a bit queasy, and we don’t want you to faint.”

 Nodding, Chanyeol immediately turned his head away, looking up at Baekhyun with large, scared eyes. Moving forwards, Baekhyun placed himself next to the hybrid, and Chanyeol did not waste a single second before leaning his head against Baekhyun’s shoulder, nose against his throat.

 Glancing over at Baekhyun, Doctor Kang offered him a smile, before she got back to Chanyeol.

 “I’m going to put this tourniquet on your arm,” she said as she clicked the ribbon in place, tightening it. “It’s going to feel a bit tight, but it’s to help me draw your blood a bit easier. Next, I’ll wipe your skin with an alcohol swab, to make sure it’s clean. We don’t want to accidentally infect you with something!”

 As Doctor Kang ripped the package open, the smell of alcohol filled the air. Now, Baekhyun was pretty used to the smell of alcohol, what with working in a bar and all that - but this was different. This really stung your nose, and he could not help but wonder how much worse it was for Chanyeol. Considering how he pressed his nose even harder against Baekhyun’s throat, probably quite the bit worse.

 “Now we’re just going to wait a bit for that to dry, and then I’ll draw your blood,” Doctor Kang said, this kind of cheerful tone to her voice, and Baekhyun wondered if that helped keep people calm when they had their blood drawn.

 He was not quite sure if he himself would appreciate it, to be honest.

 As Baekhyun saw the doctor pick up the needle, he wrapped his arm around Chanyeol’s back, using his thumb to rub up and down the hybrid’s side, hopefully in a comforting manner.

 “You’ll feel a quick pinch, and then it’ll be over,” Doctor Kang said as she positioned the needle against Chanyeol’s skin - and then pushed it inside.

 Baekhyun could feel how Chanyeol clenched his jaw, and he pressed his thumb a bit harder into his side, more massaging than rubbing, to try to help. As soon as the blood appeared, Baekhyun turned to press the side of his face against Chanyeol’s head, not really feeling up for seeing it either. There was just something about that much blood dripping into vials that Baekhyun did  _ not _ enjoy…

 “And there we go, all done,” Doctor Kang said, and Baekhyun looked up to find the tourniquet removed, the doctor holding a piece of cotton against the bend of Chanyeol’s elbow as she extracted the needle. “Now, I’ll need you to keep some pressure on this, okay?”

 Barely even thinking, Baekhyun reached out, and Doctor Kang moved her fingers to allow him to take over. Cleaning up and putting things away, Doctor Kang then removed the cotton and pasted a band aid in place over the wound instead.

 “It’ll probably bleed for a little while longer, but there’s a substance on the patch that will help the bleeding stop,” the doctor said, softly patting Chanyeol’s lower arm. “It’ll take a few days for the results to get back to me, but I’ll let you know as soon as I get them. I’ll also send someone over here with the medication as soon as possible, to help you get the fever a bit more under control.”

 Pulling back a little, but not lifting his head from Baekhyun’s shoulder, Chanyeol nodded.

 “I’ll get going then,” Doctor Kang said, picking up her bag, before she placed a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “If you ever need any help, any at all, I’ll be more than happy to help. I’m so incredibly happy that you managed to get out, and I’ll do all in my power to help you.”

 “Thank you,” Chanyeol responded, and Baekhyun could hear the shy smile in his voice.

 “Like I said, no problem at all,” the doctor said, before glancing up at Baekhyun and smiling at him too. “It was very nice to meet the both of you, and I meant what I said. Anything, anything at all, just let me know.”

 With that, Doctor Kang turned to leave the room; but before she did, she stopped by Joohyun’s side, taking her hand and squeezing it. Joohyun squeezed back, this kind of bittersweet smile on her lips that Baekhyun could not decipher, but he knew that there was a lot of history behind their touch and that smile.

 Then the doctor was gone, leaving silence in her wake.

 “Are you okay?” Baekhyun murmured, stroking Chanyeol’s back.

 “Yes,” Chanyeol answered. “A little tired.”

 “Do you want to stay here and wait for the medication, or do you want to go home? I’m sure Joohyun can come by with it when it arrives if you’d rather go home,” Baekhyun asked, glancing over at Joohyun who nodded.

 “We can wait,” Chanyeol said, leaning a bit more heavily against Baekhyun.

 But he was so thin, so light, that Baekhyun had no problems with keeping them both upright. So tall, yet so little flesh to the bones…

 “I have a sofa in my office that you’re more than welcome to use as you wait,” Yixing spoke up, and Baekhyun almost jumped a meter into the air.

 He had totally forgotten that his boss was still there, having been so focused on Chanyeol and the examination.

 “Are you sure?” Baekhyun asked, turning to his boss once he had managed to calm his racing heart a little.

 Yixing gave one of his soft smiles that brought out one of his dimples, nodding. “I’m absolutely sure. I’m not going to use it, and you seem in better need of it anyway.”

 “Okay then, thank you,” Baekhyun said, before turning back to Chanyeol, to help him down from the table.

 Taking the hybrid’s hand, Baekhyun began to lead him out of the room, coming to a stop for a few seconds as Chanyeol stopped in front of Yixing and thanked him with a bow. Yixing just smiled and patted Chanyeol’s head, and then they were walking again.

 Yixing’s office was a bit more comfortably furnished, which Baekhyun suspected was because of the fact that his boss seemed to spend a lot of time in here, and  _ needed _ more comfortable surroundings. And sure enough, standing against one wall was a sofa, a leather thing that looked incredibly comfortable.

 With a sigh, Baekhyun sank down into it - and then sank some more - pulling Chanyeol down with him.

 “How are you feeling, after what you learned about yourself today?” Baekhyun asked, gently bumping his shoulder into Chanyeol’s. “Relief over knowing what’s going on?”

 Chanyeol nodded. “That’s nice. But the rest not so much. The cause and the result…”

 “Yeah, that sucks,” Baekhyun sighed, deliberately keeping his thoughts from going further down that road. Neither he nor Chanyeol needed that anger right now. “Sucks majorly, for sure. But the doctor said it should be over soon, so at least it won’t be anything permanent.”

 Chanyeol nodded at that, placing his hands in his lap, one finger starting to scratch over the fabric of his sweatpants.

 It was still a bit shocking to Baekhyun, how Chanyeol actually responded to question nowadays, and sometimes talked quite the bit. He had really evolved quickly from the shy and terrified hybrid that had run out into the road, but Baekhyun felt that he was holding back so much still in a not so natural way. He could not say why he felt so, but Baekhyun just had a feeling that once you got Chanyeol to talk, he would talk a lot. Or that he should, at least.

 “Why don’t you talk more?” Baekhyun asked, continuing before Chanyeol could answer. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, of course, it’s just… I’m curious. At first I thought you maybe didn’t understand me, but it didn’t take long before I realized that obviously you did. And then I thought that maybe you had had your tongue removed or something like that, but then you spoke, showing that you had all of the needed organs to speak. So, it must be an unwillingness, right? Or?”

 Chanyeol looked down at his hands in his lap, chewing on his lower lip as he seemed to debate whether or not to actually answer Baekhyun, looking so very uncomfortable that Baekhyun regretted even asking.

 But as Baekhyun opened his mouth to tell Chanyeol to forget it, it didn’t matter, Chanyeol had dragged in a deep breath, and started to speak.

 “I don’t like talking. Talking never ended well for me,” Chanyeol said, voice so small, yet determined. “Screaming, begging, crying… Those things were desired, but also the things I hated the most. Actual talking, though, was discouraged. The only time I spoke was with the other hybrids, and only when none of the humans were around. Barely even then, to be honest, because I was always so scared of someone walking in on us talking and being punished…”

 Baekhyun wanted to tell Chanyeol to stop, that it was enough, he did not have to say more. But Chanyeol seemed to want to get this out, already taking another deep breath to continue.

 “I’ve never liked talking, at least not before, but now it has… Started to change,” Chanyeol said, fiddling with his fingers by now. “It’s  _ nice _ talking with you, even if you can hold a conversation all on your own and don’t really need my input.”

 Baekhyun gasped at that, wanting to lighten the mood a little - and succeeding if the smile on Chanyeol’s lips was anything to go by.

 “You can’t deny that,” Chanyeol teased, glancing up at him, and Baekhyun chuckled.

 “No, I can’t, considering how many one-sided conversations I’ve had ever since you dashed into my life,” Baekhyun agreed, enjoying the slightly bigger smile it got him. “So that’s it? Talking never was a good thing for you before, so you just didn’t?”

 Back to chewing on his lower lip again, Chanyeol slowly shook his head.

 “Not… Quite. Yes, that was the reason before, but not anymore,” Chanyeol answered, sighing a little. “Like I said, I find it nice to talk to you, but… I don’t know how to say this, it’s honestly pretty stupid…”

 Placing a hand on the hybrid’s fidgeting hands, Baekhyun bent his head slightly to be able to catch Chanyeol’s eyes, giving him an encouraging smile as he succeeded.

 “I’m sure it isn’t stupid, but if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine too,” Baekhyun said, trying to put as much honesty as possible into his words, because it was true. Chanyeol had already said so much, and if he was uncomfortable with continuing, Baekhyun did not want to push him.

 Turning his hands enough to be able to grip Baekhyun’s, Chanyeol began to map the skin-covered planes out, going across knuckles and tendons in a very thorough way, and Baekhyun could not help but wonder if it was calming to the hybrid.

 “I don’t like showing you how they marked me, because I know it makes you upset,” was what Chanyeol finally whispered, so quietly that Baekhyun just barely heard the words - but they had him freeze in place.

 Chanyeol’s fingers across Baekhyun’s skin sped up, almost frantic in their touching now, as in a reaction to Baekhyun’s reaction, and it had him snap out of his stupor quickly.

 “Stop,” Baekhyun said, managing to catch enough of Chanyeol’s fingers to hold them somewhat still. “It’s okay. I’m not upset with you. Surprised, yes, and furious with  _ them _ , but not upset with you.”

 Chanyeol whined softly, seemingly not at all convinced, but Baekhyun simply squeezed his hands a bit more, before relaxing and allowing the hybrid to go back to playing with Baekhyun’s hand.

 “You’re right, it makes me upset to see how they marked you, because they didn’t have any right to do so,” Baekhyun explained, eyes focusing on their hands. “Nobody has the right to take away the freedom of another person, and I truly hate those who think they do. I wish I could erase every single mark on you, remove the collar, heal the scars,  _ everything _ , but I can’t. And that upsets me too, because it makes me feel a bit worthless. But I’m not upset with you, never with you. Okay?”

 Chanyeol’s fingers were trembling slightly as he nodded.

 “Good. Do you want to stop talking about this now? We can do something else-”

 But the shake of head interrupted Baekhyun, and he fell silent as Chanyeol’s fingers came to a stop.

 “I also don’t like talking because of how they marked me,” Chanyeol began anew, inhaling shakingly once before looking over at Baekhyun, staring right at him in a way he never did when he spoke. “It embarrasses me, reminds me of what I was brought up to do, the whole reason behind my existence… And I don’t  _ want _ to be that.”

 That was the first time Baekhyun noticed the faint glinting inside of Chanyeol’s mouth - something metallic that seemed rather out of place.

 “I don’t like being seen as a toy, some kind of pet to keep in a cage and only take out for it to pleasure you,” Chanyeol continued, and now Baekhyun was pretty sure he knew what it was, the metallic glinting, and he could not look away as horror filled his stomach. “And it embarrasses me, the thought of you seeing it, and knowing just what I’ve had to do, seeing all the proof that makes it impossible to ignore it…”

 A tongue piercing.

 Baekhyun had of course heard about how the piercing could  _ enhance _ sensations, though he had never experienced it himself, and thinking about forcing someone to get the piercing, just to be able to bring more pleasure to the sick fucks paying for his time and attention…

 Baekhyun felt sick to his stomach.

 Pursing his lips, Chanyeol turned his face away from Baekhyun, and Baekhyun knew that the red creeping up the hybrid’s neck was from shame. And Baekhyun  _ hated _ that Chanyeol felt shame, even though he understood why. He could not even come close to imagine what it must be like, but he knew that shame was not something Chanyeol should have to feel.

 He had been forced into something that was not his fault, forced to do things no one should be forced to do, things that must have been so horrible to have to do and get through, and the shame was a natural reaction to that. But something inside of Baekhyun told him that Chanyeol should not feel shame over any of it.

 “Chanyeol,” Baekhyun softly called out, waiting until Chanyeol had turned partially back to him, face tilted downwards. “Don’t hide from me. I’ve seen enough to not be able to ignore what happened in your past, and I don’t think I want to. I can see it in the way you act and react, but most of all I can see it in the claim of ownership around your throat.”

 As if automatically, one of Chanyeol’s hands slipped from beneath Baekhyun’s and up to touch the collar around his neck, but Baekhyun used his other hand to catch it and bring it back down.

 “I don’t think your past is something to ignore, that’s not fair to you,” Baekhyun continued, gently rubbing his thumb across the back of Chanyeol’s hand, the one he had just caught. “It’s still a part of you, and by ignoring it I don’t think we’re doing you any favors, to be honest. In time, after you’ve come to accept things, I think that forgetting it will be easier and better, but not ignoring it, not now. It still affects you too much.”

 Slowly, and a bit reluctantly, Chanyeol nodded.

 “Piercings is not something I’m unused to, I used to have a few back in the day,” Baekhyun said, aiming for a lighter tone to try to easen the atmosphere a little - because it was way too heavy right now. “And if you’d like to, you can remove it, and hopefully the hole will grow away, and then it’ll be as if it was never even there!”

 Suddenly, the atmosphere dropped once more, more red climbing up Chanyeol’s neck.

 “I-I can’t,” the hybrid stammered. “It’s, uhm, p-permanent.”

 Frowning in confusion, Baekhyun moved until he was seated on the edge of the sofa, body tilted towards Chanyeol.

 “It’s permanent?” Baekhyun asked, Chanyeol nodding. “Show me the piercing.”

 Hesitantly, Chanyeol just stared at Baekhyun, before he swallowed, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth to stick out his tongue.

 As gently as possible, Baekhyun used two fingers to get Chanyeol to tilt his head this way and that, to get as good of a look as possible, heart sinking with each and every beat.

 “They welded the balls in place?” Baekhyun finally asked, finding it hard to find his voice, unable to make it go above a hoarse whisper.

 Immediately, Chanyeol closed his mouth once more, letting his head hang.

 “Did they do it when it was in your tongue?” Baekhyun continued to ask, actually not wanting to hear the answer, yet still  _ needing _ to.

 It was just the barest of lifts of a head, before falling back down, but it was glaringly obvious to Baekhyun from how focused he was on the hybrid.

 White-hot fury surging through him, Baekhyun forced himself to not tighten his hands around Chanyeol’s, clenching his jaw as he looked over at one of the walls of the office, breathing through his nose as he tried to calm down. Him getting worked up over something like that was not worth it - there was nothing he could do to undo it, and his anger would just scare Chanyeol even more.

 So, counting to ten, and then twenty, Baekhyun forced himself to calm down, then to relax. By the time he had made it to thirty, he felt somewhat in control of himself, moving to tiredly drag a hand through his hair, exhaustion and desperation and  _ disbelief _ now flowing through him instead.

 “I probably don’t want to know this, but I need to ask anyway,” Baekhyun finally said as he managed to unclench his jaw. “Do you have any more piercings?”

 Not saying anything, Chanyeol just softly nodded.

 “Are they also for… The same reason as your tongue piercing?” Another nod. “Also welded together?” A longer pause, before yet another nod.

 Yeah, Baekhyun did not really like the fact that his mind had forced him to ask that question.

 Sinking back down against the sofa, Baekhyun used his free hand to rub up and down Chanyeol’s tense back, the hybrid still hunkered over.

 “If you want to, I’ll make sure to find the best and safest ways to remove the piercings,” Baekhyun promised. “And if you don’t want to, that’s more than okay too. Do you want a hug? I kind of feel like getting a hug…”

 Almost before Baekhyun had finished talking, Chanyeol was moving, not lifting his head enough for Baekhyun to see his face before curling against Baekhyun’s side, face pressed against Baekhyun’s neck. Wrapping his arms around the hybrid’s back, Baekhyun let out a long sigh, leaning his head against Chanyeol’s and closing his eyes, not wanting to think any more about this particular topic.

 It was just too much right now.

 Chanyeol seemed to share that thought, as it did not take long before Baekhyun felt something wet against his skin, and trembling beneath his arms. Instead of saying anything about it, though, Baekhyun just tightened his arms around Chanyeol and held him as close as he possibly could, letting the hybrid get all of his tears out.

 It seemed to be very needed. Like a sort of cleansing, saying it out loud and coming clean with it, and being able to hopefully move past it now.

 

 By the time that Joohyun softly knocked on the door and peeked inside, Chanyeol was asleep, curled up against Baekhyun. Sending the hybrid a soft look, Joohyun stepped inside, holding up a small canvas bag.

 “The medication, it just arrived,” she whispered, and Baekhyun nodded in acknowledgement. “Has he been out for long?”

 “No, not really,” Baekhyun answered, continuing to play with Chanyeol’s hair. It was nice, so soft, and somewhat soothing to Baekhyun. “Maybe twenty minutes? After everything he’s been through since yesterday he’s been exhausted, though…”

 “Then let him sleep for a bit longer, and then go home,” Joohyun said, reaching out to run her fingers through Baekhyun’s air, not that differently from how Baekhyun was playing with Chanyeol’s. “You need anything?”

 “No, I’m good, but some water for when he wakes up?” Baekhyun requested, and Joohyun nodded before slipping outside again, to fetch the water.

 It was not long after that that Chanyeol woke up, his fever having climbed once more, and Baekhyun was extremely grateful that the medicine had arrived before that. After helping the hybrid swallow one of the pills, Baekhyun then drove them home.


	8. Chapter 8

 After Chanyeol told Baekhyun about his piercings, things started to change even more. The hybrid started to talk more, no longer  _ as _ afraid of letting Baekhyun see the metal tainting his mouth, even though he was still somewhat shy about it.

 He also started to smile wider, and laugh louder, which Baekhyun loved. Chanyeol’s face was made for happiness, and it looked beautiful on him.

 The fever persisted for three more days, the increased libido holding out for just as long. Neither got a lot of sleep those few nights, but they made sure to nap properly during the days as well. Baekhyun’s sofa turned out to be very nice to cuddle up together on to sleep.

 Thanks to that first early morning session, and the ones that followed, walls were further torn down between them. Chanyeol sought Baekhyun’s touch and hugs more often, and Baekhyun continued with chaste kisses against the hybrid’s cheeks and head. Whenever Chanyeol did something cute, Baekhyun would cup the hybrid’s cheeks, coo, and press a kiss each on the pink cheeks, and then Chanyeol would shyly hide against the crook of Baekhyun’s neck.

 So it was really not that strange when things progressed even further, though they did surprise Baekhyun a little bit. After all, after everything Chanyeol must have been through, Baekhyun did not expect for him to help the progression along.

 Or maybe it was not that strange. Intimacy was what Chanyeol knew, after all.

 Baekhyun very much hoped that was not the reason behind Chanyeol’s actions. He so very badly hoped that was not the reason.

 It was the day after the fever had finally broken. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had decided to spend it in the sofa anyway, to make sure that it was truly gone - and because they were still pretty tired.

 They were watching a movie, some romcom they had found that seemed acceptable in the absence of something better. It was all very cute and loveydove, but not doing much to catch Baekhyun’s attention.

 It seemed that it was not managing to catch Chanyeol either, as he after a while began to wriggle around a little every now and then. But as the wriggling became worse, the hybrid seeming rather restless, Baekhyun began to worry it was something else. He really did not mind the whole dealing with Chanyeol’s malfunctioning libido, it was a bit awkward, but nothing Baekhyun could not handle if it was to help Chanyeol.  _ But _ , he did not want Chanyeol to have to suffer through something like that again, so he hoped it was not his body acting up once more.

 “Are you okay, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asked, looking over at the hybrid with a worried frown.

 It took a while, Chanyeol chewing on his lower lip a bit, but then he opened his mouth.

 “Can I… Kiss you too?” Chanyeol asked, ignoring Baekhyun’s own question, voice the softest it had been in a few days now, taking Baekhyun by surprise.

 “You want to kiss me?” Baekhyun asked, getting blushing cheeks and a nod in response. “Really, you want to kiss me?”

 “I’ve been doing much worse things next to you, is it really that strange that I want to kiss you?” Chanyeol muttered, having moved to press his face against Baekhyun’s shoulder, and his words had Baekhyun laughing.

 “Okay, you’re making a valid point, I’ll give you that,” Baekhyun said, nudging at Chanyeol until he moved his head enough for Baekhyun to be able to somewhat see his face. “If you want to kiss me, go right ahead. You have my explicit permission.”

 Moving back just a little, still leaned against Baekhyun’s shoulder, Chanyeol reached out to place a hand on Baekhyun’s nape to be able to pull him close. He looked shy yet focused as he licked his lips, eyes darting between Baekhyun’s eyes and Baekhyun’s lips.

 Smiling softly, Baekhyun placed his own hand on Chanyeol’s cheek, brushing across it with his thumb to soothe and encourage. He was feeling the faint tickles of wings of excitement in his tummy, unable to keep himself from looking forwards to this, but trying not to seem too excited. Enough, but not too much - that was the way to go.

 Seemingly finding the needed courage, Chanyeol used his grip to pull Baekhyun down, pressing their lips together for a few seconds before opening his mouth and bringing his tongue into the mix. But not as in French kissing, but as in a  _ lot _ of tongue, and not really  _ any _ lips.

 As it continued like this, Baekhyun could not help but giggle and pull back, licking his lips as Chanyeol’s kissing had left things a bit too wet for Baekhyun’s liking.

 “You’re kissing like you’re in a porno,” Baekhyun chortled, watching as red splotches bloomed across skin. “Just follow my lead.”

 Cupping Chanyeol’s face, Baekhyun pulled him closer, once more pressing their lips together. Chanyeol stayed still this time around, so Baekhyun made it his goal to coax his movements out of the hybrid. Hopefully it would be a bit more natural this time around, and a lot less staged.

 Slowly, no rush to his lips, Baekhyun took his time just pressing their lips together over and over again. After a while, Chanyeol began to mirror it, and in no time at all they were moving against each other again, much calmer than before.

 After deciding that Chanyeol had gotten the hang of it, Baekhyun moved on to open-mouthed kisses, but still keeping his tongue out of it. Quicker this time, Chanyeol began to mimic, but every time he used his tongue, Baekhyun would pull back for a few seconds, before going back.

 It might have been minutes, it might have been hours, the entire world might have perished - Baekhyun had no idea, wrapped up together with Chanyeol in their little bubble of softness and warmth. Pulling back, Baekhyun just enjoyed the moment for a few seconds, before slowly opening his eyes. A soft smile spread on his lips as he caught the dazed look on Chanyeol’s face.

 “Nice?” Baekhyun whispered, really enjoying the blush on the hybrid’s cheeks.

 “Yes,” Chanyeol whispered back, a smile taking over his face as well. “The nicest.”

 “Now you’re just spoiling me with compliments,” Baekhyun chuckled, a bit embarrassedly.

 “No,” Chanyeol said, shaking his head to further reinforce his denial. “Nobody has ever kissed me like you before.”

 And Baekhyun could believe that. It tugged painfully at his heart, but there was no denying that the chances of that were high.

 “You know what, I’ll make sure to kiss you until the point that you can no longer remember anyone else’s kisses,” Baekhyun vowed, pulling Chanyeol back in for a few more kisses. “You’ll only remember  _ my _ kisses, ever.”

 With a nod and a giggle, Chanyeol allowed himself to be pulled back in, over and over again.

 Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and startling away from Chanyeol, Baekhyun looked over towards the door in confusion. As far as he knew, they were not expecting company.

 “You think Joohyun might have decided to drop in to check how we’re doing?” Baekhyun asked Chanyeol as he released the hybrid’s face and got up from the sofa to make his way over to the entrance. “Without texting me about it…”

 The bell rang again, as if the person on the other side was turning impatient, and Baekhyun frowned as he reached the door.

 Peeking through the peephole as his hands closed around the handle and lock, Baekhyun took a look before pulling the door open-

 But he did not even make it that far, eyes widening in surprise as he did not find a face on the other side of the door, but the pipe of a gun.

 Acting instinctively, Baekhyun threw himself down onto the ground, and half a second later an ear-piercing sound was heard, a bullet penetrating through the glass Baekhyun had been looking through. Just a few moments longer, and that bullet would have been stuck inside of Baekhyun’s head, or stuck inside of the wall painted with Baekhyun’s blood and brain matter.

 Scrambling backwards, Baekhyun stayed low to the ground as he made his way back to the living room, hearing several more shots hitting the door but seemingly not getting further. Thank fuck for security doors!

 Back in the living room, Baekhyun found Chanyeol sitting frozen in place on the sofa, eyes large and fear-filled and ears flat against his head. Hurrying over to him, Baekhyun took the hybrid’s hand, placing his other one on Chanyeol’s cheek.

 “Chanyeol, come on, we need to go, so I need you to move,” Baekhyun rushed out, glancing around to see if someone managed to get inside, but still trying to keep some eye contact with Chanyeol. “Please, Chanyeol, we need to  _ go! _ ”

 Inhaling sharply, Chanyeol snapped back to himself, actually looking back at Baekhyun, and Baekhyun gave a relieved smile.

 “There we go, come on now, time to move,” Baekhyun coaxed, grabbing his phone and pulling Chanyeol with him, out of the sofa and further into the apartment, keeping low. As they went past the kitchen, Baekhyun snatched his keys from the countertop, knowing he would most probably be needing them.

 Baekhyun had always been a bit precautious, probably stemming from the rather violent life he had led during his teenage years and early adulthood, but now he was very thankful for it. Before he had even gotten the apartment, he had made sure to map it out, checking every little nook and cranny. That was how he knew that below the connected apartments was a tunnel leading to a disused bomb shelter. Nowadays, it was filled with various crap the other residents found fitting to cram inside.

 Carefully opening the door to the garage, Baekhyun peeked down, but it seemed as if no one had gone inside it. Not turning the lights on, Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol close and helped him get down the staircase without falling, he himself being more than familiar with it to be able to navigate without his vision.

 Making their way over to the back of the garage, Baekhyun ran his hand along the wall until finally coming across the door he was looking for. Moving Chanyeol’s hand to his shoulder, to make sure they knew where they had each other, Baekhyun then unlocked the door to push it open. It took some time, the door not having been used probably since Baekhyun and Kyungsoo had gotten drunk and explored the tunnel, scaring each other shitless, but with a hard enough push, it swung open.

 The automatic lights flickered to life, faint and shaky, but there and illuminating enough for them to be able to see where they were going.

 “What is this?” Chanyeol whispered, voice trembling, as Baekhyun took his hand once more and led him into the tunnel.

 “It leads to an underground bomb shelter, connecting all of the apartments,” Baekhyun answered as he closed the door, hearing it click locked behind them. Hopefully they were not locked in, because Baekhyun had no idea if his phone worked down here… “I think some of my neighbors have their doors unlocked, so we’re going to do some breaking and entering. Hope you’re not too concerned about breaking a few laws.”

 Chanyeol only gave a shaky chuckle in response, and it had Baekhyun crack a smile of his own, though it probably looked a bit bitter. Up until recently, Chanyeol had been  _ very _ involved with illegal stuff, after all.

 Making their way to about the middle of the tunnel, Baekhyun began to check on doors. Luckily, the third one he tried opened, and he quickly ushered Chanyeol inside. Using the light from the tunnel, his eyes a bit more used to the darkness by now, Baekhyun checked the room. It looked like a pretty regular garage, shelves and boxes against two walls, a few tools, and a big, empty space in the middle, most likely for a car. As far as Baekhyun knew, he was the only one with a motorcycle in this house, at least one that was used regularly.

 Closing the door behind them, Baekhyun slowly made his way through the middle, Chanyeol behind him, until they were by the garage door. Moving to the side, Baekhyun soon found the smaller door, for when you needed to go outside of the garage, but did not feel like messing with the large garage door.

 “I hope they haven’t fully surrounded the house, since it’s in the middle of the day and they should try to stay at least  _ somewhat _ inconspicuous,” Baekhyun said, looking up at the softly glowing blue eyes. He had never noticed that before, how Chanyeol’s eyes seemed to be lit from inside. He probably had pretty good low-light vision, now that Baekhyun thought about it- No, no time for that now. “As soon as I tell you, run as quickly as you can towards the car, okay? It’ll be unlocked, so just  _ get inside. _ ”

 “Okay,” Chanyeol answered, squeezing Baekhyun’s hand, and Baekhyun squeezed back, before letting go and cracking the door open.

 The sunlight was bright, all too bright for Baekhyun now, but he forced himself to blink the tears away as quickly as possible, no matter how much his eyes burned. Peeking through the small opening he had made, he could not see anyone, so he opened the door a bit further, a bit more brave.

 There seemed to be no one around, the daylight hopefully having the intruders keep a low profile. Maybe they had managed to make their way into Baekhyun’s apartment by now, most of them inside and searching through it?

 Ignoring the fury at how his apartment, his  _ home _ , was currently being desecrated by scum, Baekhyun opened the door enough to allow them outside, stepping into the light and turning to Chanyeol.

 “Go, now!” he whisper-yelled, pulling out his keys to have them ready, then following the sprinting hybrid.

 Baekhyun was not sure why, blaming it on the adrenaline most surely flooding his veins, but he was sure he had never run as fast today ever before in his life. And that said something, considering how many times he had run away from things in the past. But within seconds, they were both by the car, already unlocked and waiting for them, and then Baekhyun was pushing the key into the ignition and turning it, glancing up to make sure that Chanyeol was safely inside before literally stepping on the gas.

 Like an arrow, perfectly showing off the car’s quick acceleration from zero to hundred, they shot out of the parking space, and down the road. Baekhyun was sure he heard a few bullets hit the body of the car, and he just hoped Joohyun would not be too angry with him.

_ Joohyun. _

 Pulling out his phone and throwing it into Chanyeol’s lap, Baekhyun did not remove his eyes from the road, quickly climbing above the speed limits.

 “Call Joohyun,” he bit out, trying to soften his voice for Chanyeol’s sake, but with the adrenaline and fear filling him, it was hard.

 Out of the corner of his eye, Baekhyun could see Chanyeol nod, using trembling hands to do as told, and Baekhyun was so very grateful that he had shown Chanyeol how to speed dial Joohyun.

 “They’ve found us,” was what Chanyeol said, presumably after Joohyun had picked up. “Yes, Baekhyun’s driving. Okay, I’ll tell him.”

 Taking another curve and dodging past slower cars, Baekhyun waited for whatever Joohyun had told Chanyeol, still not daring to even glance over at the hybrid.

 “The bar, she says to go to the bar,” Chanyeol said as he removed the phone from his ear, making Baekhyun frown.

 “The bar? Why does she want us to go there?” Baekhyun muttered, but he adjusted his driving to take them in the direction of his workplace.

 “I guess we’ll find out when we get there…,” Chanyeol mumbled, and now Baekhyun almost could not help but look over at him, noticing the strange tone in his voice.

 But Chanyeol said nothing more, and Baekhyun forced himself to concentrate on getting them to the bar in one piece.

 

 Skidding to a stop as close to the building as he could come but still have Chanyeol able to get out, Baekhyun threw a quick glance around to make sure no one was around, before he quickly made his way out of the car and signaling to Chanyeol to do the same.

 It was as they met on Chanyeol’s side of the car that the sound of a roaring engine was heard, and Baekhyun quickly pulled Chanyeol down to hide behind the car, body tense as a drawn bow and adrenaline spiking. Glancing through the windows, Baekhyun released a sigh of relief as a rather familiar bike turned into the parking lot, coming to a stop next to the car, and he stood up as Joohyun parked the bike and quickly got off of it.

 “Inside,” she ordered, not even pulling her helmet off as she was rushing over to them, and Baekhyun did not need to be told twice before he grabbed Chanyeol and pulled him along inside.

 Turning around as the door slammed close, Baekhyun opened his mouth to ask what they were doing there, but Joohyun just shook her head, removing her helmet and inclining her head further into the building.

 “Follow me, then I’ll answer all of your questions,” she said, not waiting for an answer before she started to move again.

 And so far, Joohyun had shown that Baekhyun could blindly trust her - so he did that once more, and followed her. His fingers stayed intertwined with Chanyeol’s, tightening minutely in response to how much Chanyeol was shaking, to try to reassure him. They were somewhat safe now.

 At least Baekhyun hoped so.

 Joohyun led them over to a staircase, leading upwards. Baekhyun had no idea what the upper part of the building was used for, only staying on the ground floor with the bar, but apparently he was about to find out now.

 A long hallways was what met them, doors placed with even distance between them, and it was at one of these that Joohyun stopped, pulling out a key and unlocking it before letting Baekhyun and Chanyeol inside.

 “I apologize for the state of it, it’s not being used that much anymore so it doesn’t get cleaned a lot,” Joohyun said as she stepped in behind them, flicking on the lights.

 It was a room, similar to a studio apartment but without the kitchen. Apart from that, it contained all of the necessities - a sofa, an armchair, a TV, a bed, and a door that Baekhyun thought might lead to a bathroom.

 “Is this yours?” Baekhyun asked, looking around with Chanyeol.

 “Yes, it has been for many years now,” Joohyun answered, moving over to sit down in the armchair standing by the sofa. “There’s a room prepared for Chanyeol, but since he’s been living with you we haven’t given him the keys to it yet, and I don’t have them, so until we can get them you’re welcome to stay here.”

 Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol had stilled at Joohyun’s words - Baekhyun staring at Chanyeol, while Chanyeol blinked at Joohyun.

 “For me? A room for me?” Chanyeol asked, raising his free hand to point towards himself.

 Joohyun smiled and nodded. “For you. Should the need arise, which it obviously have. Give me a moment to text Yixing, and then I’ll answer your questions.”

 Shaking his stupor away, Baekhyun nudged Chanyeol and glanced over towards the sofa in a question. Looking down at him, Chanyeol looked towards the sofa as well, before nodding, and so they made their way over to sit down in it to wait for Joohyun to finish up.

 “Yixing’s currently away, of course they’d use this opportunity to go after you,” Joohyun sighed, dragging a hand through her hair as she put her phone in her lap.

 “What does Yixing have to do with mobsters finally coming after us to try to steal Chanyeol back?” Baekhyun asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

 “You really don’t know who Yixing is, do you?” Joohyun asked, amusement - but also a tinge of sadness - to her voice.

 “He’s the owner of this bar and my employer,” Baekhyun said with a shrug. “I know he has some connections to the underground, that’s a given considering this bar, but is there anything else I  _ should _ know?”

 “In your situation, yes, actually,” Joohyun said. “This isn’t just your regular old bikers’ bar. This is a safe bar, a sanctuary for those who wants or needs it. Sure, fights break out every now and then, that’s just the danger of a bar like this one, but no one is actually allowed to specifically go after someone when they’re inside of this bar. As long as you’re in here, you’re protected, and sometimes that applies for outside of here, too, if needed. Yixing has the resources to help you get out of your troubles, no matter what they are. At least as long as you’re fast enough, because not even Yixing can get you out when it’s too late…”

 “Too late?” Baekhyun asked, but Joohyun just waved it away.

 “Not relevant right now, the point is that this is a sanctuary for anyone who needs it,” Joohyun said. “And Yixing is one of few people who can protect the two of you.”

 “How can our boss, the owner of this club or sanctuary or whatever, protect us from the entire mafia?” Baekhyun asked, frowning because things were not  _ quite _ making sense to him.

 To his surprise, it was not Joohyun who answered his question, but  _ Chanyeol. _

 “Because he’s an immortal being who has walked the Earth since the first humanoids showed up,” Chanyeol said, and Baekhyun whipped his head around to stare at him in shock. “Several civilizations have worshiped him as a god, and from what I’ve heard it’s not that far from his true nature…”

 “I’m sorry what?” was all Baekhyun managed in a weak voice, head spinning.

 Had it been about a week ago, he would never have believed what Chanyeol was claiming. He might even have laughed in the hybrid’s face at the absurdity of it. But that was then, and after what Baekhyun had been through and had to face the last several days, it was almost a bit  _ too _ easy to believe the claims.

 Add to that the fact that he had always felt somewhat insignificant and humble, and a bit scared, in Yixing’s presence, it made even more sense.

 “Your boss is a supernatural being older than your own subspecies who has been regarded as a deity by millions of people,” Joohyun said, this very entertained smirk on her face. “I know, it’s a lot to take in. You’ll get used to it, though, I promise.”

 “A-are you sure?” Baekhyun stammered, because he was kind of feeling like he would never get used to the fact that his boss apparently was a god-like being.

_ What the actual fuck? _

 “Yes, I’m sure,” Joohyun said with a laugh, softer now. “It takes some time, but you will. Anyway, he’ll be able to protect you, and the reason for why I said that Chanyeol’s imprisoners used this opportunity to come after you is because they fear him. Rightfully so, but still. I don’t think they’ll dare enter the sanctuary, there’s still enough people to get past for it to be somewhat of a suicide mission, but you never know. Especially if failure means death, because desperation makes people do some really stupid shit…”

Baekhyun chuckled at that, but it was not a particularly happy sound. Everything was a bit overwhelming currently, and with the adrenaline draining away, he was starting to feel quite exhausted.

 “I need to go talk with some people, to make sure everyone knows what’s going on and might happen,” Joohyun said, pulling her hair into a quick pony. “Stay here for now-”

 “Wait!” Baekhyun hurriedly said, holding up a hand to stop Joohyun from leaving, making her look over at him with a question in her eyes. “There’s still so much I don’t understand… What do you mean there’s still enough people to get through here? Are there more god-like beings or whatever here?”

 Smiling, Joohyun shook her head.

 “No one else like Yixing, so you don’t have to feel burdened,” Joohyun said with a wink, but it was not meanly meant. “There are other beings, though, that are powerful enough to at least somewhat scare the people after you.”

 And there,  _ there _ Baekhyun’s mind finally clicked an important piece in place.

 “How do you know so much about this, Joohyun?” Baekhyun slowly asked, a bad feeling growing inside of his chest that was only further increased as Joohyun looked down at her lap, at her fingers, two of them starting to turn the ring she always wore on her right ring finger round and round.

 “Because I’ve been in your position, Baekhyun,” was what Joohyun finally said, barely more than a whisper. “A long time ago, I had to run, and Yixing was the one to help me. I met someone like Chanyeol, but I… I couldn’t save him.”

 Shock surged through Baekhyun, but at the same time he was strangely not that surprised. Of course it had to be something like that… Chanyeol’s hand in his tightened, until it was almost painful, and absently Baekhyun began to rub his thumb across the back of the hybrid’s hand, to try to help to calm him.

 “He feels bad about not having been able to help me and save the one I loved, which is one of the reasons I’ve stuck around,” Joohyun continued, a bittersweet smile on her lips. “That’s why he’s making sure to help you two to the absolute best of his ability, going above what he usually does, because he doesn’t want to see something like that happen again. He doesn’t want you to end up like me, so he’ll do whatever he can to stop that. He’s blaming himself unfairly, really…”

 Baekhyun did not know what to say, and what ended up slipping out felt rather too pathetic for the situation, for Joohyun’s past.

 “I’m sorry.”

 Looking up at him again, Joohyun shook her head.

 “You don’t have to say that, pity is not something I need. It was a long time ago, and it’ll always painfully mark my heart, but it’s not something I can change now. Instead of feeling sorry for me, make sure you don’t end up on the same path as me, and that goes for both of you. Promise me you’ll hold on to each other.”

 Baekhyun’s cheeks pinked as he realized what Joohyun was hinting towards. And yet, he could say nothing to refute it - because he had feelings for Chanyeol. That much was clear, if Joohyun had picked up on it.

 “Yes, you’ve been a bit obvious,” Joohyun said, almost as if she had read Baekhyun’s mind.

 But then her eyes slipped from Baekhyun, over to Chanyeol, and Baekhyun looked over at him as well, just in time to catch how he lowered his head, cheeks as pink, if not more, as Baekhyun’s. A second later, the hybrid apparently found great interest in Baekhyun’s hand, fingers trailing across skin and following veins and tendons to knuckles and nails.

 Chest warming, Baekhyun could not help but smile, glancing over to find Joohyun smiling as well.

 “Rest for now, don’t worry about anything else. As long as you’re here, you’re both safe. Yixing and his other staff has make sure of that,” Joohyun promised as she stood up, apparently finding that moment as good as any to leave them. “You’re already marked as untouchable due to you working here, and that should be respected enough for you to be able to go outside.”

 “ _ Should _ be respected?” Baekhyun asked, voice creeping up a bit higher than normal.

 “Everyone knows the laws, but not everyone respects them. Especially not when they feel they’ve been wronged,” Joohyun answered, not looking at Baekhyun as she did. “Which is why I don’t recommend you leaving.”

 Before Baekhyun could say any more, Joohyun was already across the room, slipping out through the door.

 Staring after his friend, Baekhyun startled as he felt a head dropping down onto his shoulder, still almost automatically reaching out to place a hand against Chanyeol’s cheek.

 “Tired?” he asked, Chanyeol nodding against him.

 “My feet hurt too,” Chanyeol said, making Baekhyun chuckle.

 “Mine too, pavement isn’t the nicest thing to run across in only socks,” Baekhyun whispered, turning to press a kiss to Chanyeol’s head. They were safe and together, and he just needed to express his relief at that in some way. “Better than without anything, though.”

 Chanyeol gave a low, tired laugh at that.

 “Hey, what do you say about testing out if this sofa is good for cuddles or not?” Baekhyun asked, moving some hair out of Chanyeol’s face. “And maybe take a nap or two?”

 Nodding, Chanyeol moved to sit up, so that Baekhyun could lie down and arrange himself. After Baekhyun was done, Chanyeol lied down half on top of him, as per usual with his face against Baekhyun’s neck.

 Trailing his fingers up and down Chanyeol’s neck, Baekhyun continued to bump into the steel collar. After enough times, he instead began to trace the outline of it against Chanyeol’s skin, making the hybrid shiver and burrow a bit closer.

 “I think… I think I want to remove it,” Chanyeol breathed against Baekhyun’s skin, so softly that Baekhyun was not sure he had heard right.

 Part of him actually doubted he had heard right, considering how Chanyeol had acted about his collar before. Baekhyun could just not fully believe the words, needing confirmation.

 “What did you say?” Baekhyun asked, using his free hand to move Chanyeol from his neck and tilt his head up, so that he could see his face. “Chanyeol, what-”

 “Too many bad memories, I hate being reminded of them, I hate all it stands for, I hate  _ them _ for doing this to me,” Chanyeol said, this kind of fire to his voice that Baekhyun had not heard before, tone so harsh in a way it had never been, and Baekhyun felt  _ pride _ bloom inside of his heart and make it expand tenfold. “I don’t want to feel it anymore, I don’t want  _ you _ to feel it anymore, I don’t want everyone to see it, so I guess I want it  _ gone _ .”

 Chanyeol was rejecting his ‘owners’, breaking free of his past, letting go of this false security - and Baekhyun was so overwhelmingly proud of him.

 Moving forwards so quickly that he literally smashed their lips together, almost clacking their teeth together, Baekhyun poured everything into the most heated kiss they had shared so far. All of his relief, his pride and adoration - everything that Chanyeol deserved to feel now and forever more. And fisting his hands in Baekhyun’s shirt, clinging to him, Chanyeol returned the kiss with just as much fervor, the rest of the world burning away for at least a little while.


	9. Chapter 9

 After some more kissing that led to nothing further, both too exhausted and neither feeling like it anyway, Baekhyun and Chanyeol fell asleep all tangled up in each other. It was like that that Joohyun found them who knows how much later, as she returned from talking to the needed people. That was what Baekhyun guessed, at least.

 “Baekhyun,” she whispered, gently dragging her hand through his hair to wake him up.

 Cracking an eye open, Baekhyun groaned, before pressing himself even closer to Chanyeol who simply sighed in content.

 “I know, sweetie, I just wanted to check if you guys are hungry,” Joohyun said, still playing with Baekhyun’s hair. “You’ve been asleep for at least a few hours, and with everything that happened I’m betting you might be a bit hungry.”

 Baekhyun’s stomach decided to choose that moment to become a traitor, giving a low growl that had Joohyun chortle.

 “I take that as a yes,” she said, and Baekhyun pouted. “Wake Chanyeol up, and I’ll get something ready for you down in the break room. And don’t you dare fall asleep again, Byun Baekhyun, you need to eat.”

 Grumbling a little, Baekhyun still nodded, and then Joohyun was gone again.

 Barely even opening his eyes, Baekhyun began to press soft kisses to Chanyeol’s face, on his cheeks and his forehead. Slowly, the hybrid began to wake up, blinking his eyes somewhat open to blearily look up at Baekhyun, a silent question in them.

 “Joohyun is making food for us,” Baekhyun answered, and then Chanyeol’s stomach gave a hungry growl too. “And you seem to be as hungry as me, good.”

 Snickering, Chanyeol pressed his face against Baekhyun’s neck and inhaled, leaving a feathersoft peck on the skin there before moving to sit up. Heart having missed a beat, Baekhyun tried to hide how flustered he actually was behind a stretch, before moving out of the sofa and allowing Chanyeol to get up as well.

 Heading downstairs, they found Joohyun by the stove, cooking ramen for them.

 “You know, when you said you would get something ready for us, I thought it would be  _ actual _ food,” Baekhyun snorted as they walked up to Joohyun. “Not ramen.”

 “I take what I have, and you take what you get,” Joohyun said with a shrug, continuing to stir the two pots. “This is what I could find at the moment and you’re probably hungry enough to eat it anyway. It’s not like you two have been living the healthiest of lives up until now either…”

 “Wow, calling me out that brutally, ouch!” Baekhyun chuckled, releasing Chanyeol’s hand and patting it, before moving to get some bowls out.

 “Someone’s got to do it, and I’ll carry that burden for you,” Joohyun said with a lofty sigh. “Bring the bowls over, it’s done now.”

 A few minutes later, they were all sitting by one of the tables, Baekhyun and Chanyeol preoccupied with their food and Joohyun with her phone.

 “Yixing should be on his way back soon,” Joohyun announced as she put her phone down on the table, looking over at the two other. “Hopefully he’ll be able to solve this soon, or scare them enough for them to not dare do anything. Which is also a solution, I guess.”

 Baekhyun took a moment to swallow, clearing his throat before finally being able to answer.

 “So, uh, how  _ does _ one solve something like this?” he asked.

 Joohyun shrugged, drumming her nails against the table. “It all depends. Most people can be bought in one way or another, though Yixing dislikes using that solution. A few well-placed words are sometimes enough, or a few threats. If push comes to shove, he might have to remind them through certain means just how powerful he is… But most of the time he’s respected enough for a talk to be enough. After all, who wants to piss off one of the few people that can actually offer you sanctuary and salvation, should it be needed?”

 “No one, I’d say,” Baekhyun said, and Joohyun shot him a smile.

 Suddenly, Joohyun’s phone began to vibrate on the table, and picking it up, she checked the screen with a frown.

 “I’ll be right back,” she mumbled, moving towards the doorway as she accepted the call. Somewhat worried, Baekhyun tried not to worry too much about it as he got back to his food again.

 When Joohyun returned a few minutes later, clutching her phone in one hand, an even deeper frown on her face, Baekhyun’s heart dropped.

 “I just got a call from Jongin,” Joohyun began, looking over at Baekhyun, something evaluative in her eyes. “He’s coming soon, but… He knows how they found you.”

 “What?!” Baekhyun exclaimed, shock freezing him in place. “H-how?”

 At this, Joohyun bit down on her lower lip, and Baekhyun knew, knew without a doubt, that he would not like this. Not at all, not one bit.

 “Kyungsoo. It was Kyungsoo.”

 The entire world screeched to a halt as Baekhyun’s mind rejected the words, denying the very possibility, refusing to hear a single more thing - but Joohyun kept talking, and Baekhyun kept hearing.

 “Apparently he showed up at Jongin’s doorstep, bruises on his face, telling him that he had fucked up,” Joohyun explained, and some relief surged through Baekhyun at that. Kyungsoo had been beaten up, given the information only because of the pain, thank god… “I don’t know exactly what happened, Jongin didn’t give me the details, but… It appears as if Kyungsoo told a lover or something about you and Chanyeol, and then this person beat him to try to get more information, but he managed to escape.”

 If Baekhyun had thought his heart had reached rock bottom before, it was nothing to where it was now. Kyungsoo had willingly given up information incriminating enough for them to come barging into Baekhyun’s home, only getting beaten  _ afterwards. _

 Kyungsoo, Baekhyun’s  _ best friend _ , told whoever he was fucking about where Chanyeol was, even though he knew how serious the situation was. Kyungsoo, who had promised he would help them in whatever way he could, Kyungsoo, who was supposed to always have Baekhyun’s back, was the reason for why Baekhyun and Chanyeol were now hiding out in the bar, targets painted on both of their backs.

_ Kyungsoo was the betrayer. _

 

 The sound of a door opening had Baekhyun startle, ready to bolt with Chanyeol should he need to - but it was just Joohyun, a dark look in her eyes, being followed by two more people, two familiar people.

 Jongin strode in through the door, a scowl on his face, but it was not on him Baekhyun’s eyes were.

 No, Baekhyun’s eyes were on the bruised face belonging to the man stepping inside behind Jongin, that so very familiar face that Baekhyun really did not want to see right now.

 “Fucker-” Baekhyun hissed as he shot upright, throwing himself towards his supposed best friend, but not getting far as arms wrapped around his upper body and kept him grounded. Jongin had stepped in front of Kyungsoo to hide him from view anyway, so Baekhyun would have had to go through his coworker, which he somewhat doubted he would be able to. “What’s  _ he _ doing here?!”

 “He’s here for the same reason as you, protection,” Jongin calmly said, but it was obvious that he was boiling beneath the surface. “He has every right to it as you do, considering he’s now most probably seen as a target as well.”

 Kyungsoo really had fucked up, huh. Baekhyun was  _ livid. _

 The whispering of his name and the arms tightening around his middle had him relax a little, though, allowing Chanyeol to pull him back a tiny bit more.

 Turning to look over his shoulder, Jongin pointed towards one of the chairs standing against the wall, and with a small nod, Kyungsoo went over to sit down. Turning back to Baekhyun, Jongin’s facade fell a little, showing exhaustion and sadness beneath it.

 “He’s got a reason, not saying it’s a good one, but he does,” Jongin mumbled, probably low enough for Kyungsoo not to hear. “Anyway, are you two okay?”

 “We’re as good as we could be,” Baekhyun said with a sigh, calming a bit further.

 Chanyeol did not let go of him, though, and Baekhyun was more than okay with that.

 “It’s so typical it had to happen now that Yixing’s away,” Jongin said, rolling his eyes, while Baekhyun narrowed his.

 “Wait, you know about Yixing too?” Baekhyun asked.

 Jongin raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, I do.”

 “Let me guess, he’s helped you in the past?” Baekhyun said, sort of sensing a pattern. “It’s like he’s collecting people he’s helped…”

 “You could say that, yes,” Jongin answered, giving the first smile so far. “And it’s not so much him collecting us as us choosing to join him. I guess we feel some sort of responsibility to help him help others.”

 “That’s rather altruistic of you, I’ve always known you were a good boy,” Baekhyun said, making Jongin roll his eyes once more.

 “Speaking of collections of people, I need to go check on something,” Joohyun said, before slipping out of the room.

 Baekhyun suspected she only said that to escape, but he was fine with that. After all, he himself had things to do - something that involved Baekhyun and Kyungsoo only.

 “Gangaji, do you mind going with Jongin for a while? I need to talk to Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun said, turning his head to give Chanyeol a small smile. Kyungsoo still did not know Chanyeol’s name, and Baekhyun thought that might be just as well.

 Hesitancy stood out clear in Chanyeol’s eyes when he pulled back from Baekhyun, and Baekhyun could understand that. But Baekhyun really needed to talk to Kyungsoo, and he did not want Chanyeol there for it.

 “I’m not feeling murderous anymore, I won’t try to kill him,” Baekhyun continued after Chanyeol did not say anything, smile softening even more. “I just really need to talk to him, I promise I won’t kill him. Or seriously maim him, I can promise that too.”

 A small quirk of lips was all Chanyeol gave as a smile, before he nodded and headed towards the door, Jongin shooting Baekhyun a look before following the hybrid outside. Baekhyun could not quite decipher if the look was warning or not, and he wondered if Jongin even knew the answer to that himself.

 And then they were alone, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo. Not for the first time - but it was the first time in several years that Baekhyun had been  _ this _ upset with Kyungsoo. Maybe even ever.

 Inhaling deeply, Baekhyun slowly turned to face Kyungsoo, who was still sitting on the chair to the side of the room, looking so very small and fragile, large eyes round and hollow. He was scared, but also resigned.

 “Explain yourself,” Baekhyun ordered as he crossed his arms over his chest, staring Kyungsoo down.

 Sighing, Kyungsoo dragged both hands over his face, wincing as aggravated his injuries, and Baekhyun somewhat hated how it tugged at his heart.

 “You’re going to want to punch me in the face,” Kyungsoo began, continuing before Baekhyun managed to say that he  _ already _ wanted to do that. “You already do, but this time maybe not even the combined force of Gangaji and Jongin might be able to hold you back… Not that I don’t understand, though.”

 This really bad feeling rooted itself in Baekhyun’s stomach, spreading throughout his veins and encircling his lungs and heart, squeezing them to the point of suffocation. He was not even sure he wanted to hear the explanation - maybe he should just walk away, leave Kyungsoo behind and never look back.

 But then Kyungsoo took a deep breath, and Baekhyun stayed frozen in place.

 “Last night, like a few nights every month since about half a year back, I was with Kiwoo,” Kyungsoo said, and it took Baekhyun a moment to connect everything.

 Then he did, and it was only sheer shock that held him back from jumping Kyungsoo.

 “You’re still seeing him?” Baekhyun asked in disbelief, snorting out a sarcastic chuckle as he turned his back to Kyungsoo and dragged his hands through his hair. “Oh, you fucking  _ idiot! _ Are you fucking kidding me?! You told me you were done with him!”

 “I was done with him!” Kyungsoo yelled back, before dragging in a deep breath to calm down. “I  _ was _ done with him, I swear I was, what I told you was the truth!”

 “Obviously not, considering you  _ just _ told me you were with him  _ last night _ ,” Baekhyun said with a scoff, raising an eyebrow in a clear challenge.

 Groaning, Kyungsoo rubbed his hand through his hair in frustration, but Baekhyun did not think he had any reason to feel frustrated.

 “I  _ did _ break things off with him all of those years ago, and I haven’t seen him since, I promise,” Kyungsoo said, pleadingly staring at Baekhyun,  _ willing _ him to believe him, but Baekhyun was finding trust a bit hard at the moment. “He’s tried to get in contact with me every now and then, but I’ve always turned him down.”

 “But not this time?” Baekhyun asked, anger slowly dissipating into exhaustion. This was too much for one day, way too much.

 Clenching his jaw and pursing his lips, Kyungsoo looked away from Baekhyun, obviously not looking forwards to this part of the conversation.

 Tough luck.

 “No… Not this time,” Kyungsoo finally said, so quietly and resigned that Baekhyun barely heard the words.

 “Why?”

 When Kyungsoo turned back to look at Baekhyun, there was desperation, anger, and so much sadness in his eyes. The anger, though, was directed at  _ himself. _

 “Because I didn’t know what to do. Because I’m so scared, and it’s fucking eating me alive.”

 Frowning, Baekhyun stared at Kyungsoo for a few moments, trying to make the words make sense.

 “Scared? Of what?” Baekhyun asked, not at all understanding what Kyungsoo was talking about.

 Sighing, Kyungsoo looked down at his hands in his lap, playing with his fingers as he answered.

 “Of everything with Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, and Baekhyun’s eyes widened in surprise, because he did not expect that. “I’m not good at feelings and stuff, and I’ve never really been popular, but all of a sudden there’s this really good-looking guy hitting on me, and I don’t know what to do. And everything I thought I buried, every little insecurity and every piece of doubt, came rushing back. And then  _ he _ tried to get back in contact again, and he just managed to push every single fucking button just right, and… I don’t know, I just let him have me again.”

 Baekhyun exhaled heavily, pressing the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger as he slowly counted to ten.

 “You know Kiwoo’s the fucking  _ reason _ why you’ve struggled so with insecurities and self-doubt,” Baekhyun stated, not a hint of question to his words - because he had been there, during the thankfully somewhat short relationship, and he had seen how Kyungsoo had withered away until finally managing to break free. “He broke you and tried to reshape you into something he could control, and he very fucking nearly succeeded. He almost destroyed  _ our _ relationship.”

 “I know,” Kyungsoo answered in a quiet, small voice.

 “You know, yet you go back to him because you’re scared? Am I not good enough for you to talk with about these kinds of things anymore?” Baekhyun asked, dropping his arms to his sides, heaving a breath. “I just… We’re supposed to be  _ best friends _ , Kyungsoo. I’m the one you’re supposed to talk with about these kinds of things.”

 “I know, Baekhyun, I know, and I so fucking much wish I had gone to you from the beginning, but I was ashamed,” Kyungsoo said, rubbing at his eyes, and Baekhyun wondered if he was tearing up. It sounded as if he might be. “And you know Jongin, which just made things worse… I know I’m so fucking stupid, and there’s nothing I can say in my own defence, I don’t  _ want _ to defend myself because I really fucked up this time around…”

 “You did,” Baekhyun agreed. “You really did. I almost had my brain blown out a few hours ago, thanks to your fuckup. This isn’t just some musclemen out to beat me up to teach me a lesson, this is on life or death.”

 Kyungsoo’s eyes were wide and afraid as he stared at Baekhyun.

 “Baekhyun- oh my fucking god, I didn’t know…,” Kyungsoo stammered, despair filling his entire being.

 “I know, and thankfully they failed their tries to kill me, but just so you know how close you were to losing your best friend because of you fucking an asshole,” Baekhyun said. “Not only that, but telling him about someone you had promised to help.”

 “Was I really close? Haven’t I lost my best friend fully?” Kyungsoo tiredly asked, leaning his elbows against his knees. “Not that I blame you…”

 Baekhyun regarded him for a moment, before looking away and shrugging.

 “I don’t know yet. We’ll have to see,” was what Baekhyun responded with, catching how Kyungsoo let his head fall forwards.

 Silence settled, Baekhyun not really having anything more to either say or ask. He had a lot to think about, and needed to probably go now.

 “Do you think…,” Kyungsoo began, shaking his head and clearing his throat before starting anew. “Do you think I could apologize to Gangaji? I understand if he doesn’t want to see me right now, but… I’d like to apologize face to face anyway. I never meant for his safety to be jeopardized like this…”

 “You better apologize to him,” Baekhyun answered, crossing his arms over his chest. “And luckily for you, he’s such a good person that he’ll let you apologize as well, and probably accept it with a smile.”

 Looking away, Kyungsoo nodded, eyes ending up falling to his fingers in his lap.

 “Now stay here, and I’ll ask Joohyun to take a look at your face,” Baekhyun said, moving towards the door with a sigh.

 Stepping out of the room, Baekhyun found Chanyeol and Jongin seated in a sofa, Jongin leaned forwards with his elbows on his knees. As Baekhyun got closer, Chanyeol glanced up at him, giving a small smile, but there was worry in his eyes.

 Baekhyun understood why, though. Jongin was not looking all too well.

 “Did he tell you?” Baekhyun asked, sitting down next to Jongin.

 Dragging his hands across his face, Jongin exhaled heavily, nodding as he moved a hand to drag through his hair instead.

 “He did, yeah. I forced him to tell me everything.”

 Silence settled for a few seconds between them, heavy and pressing.

 “How are you feeling?”

 “Like shit,” Jongin said, giving a harsh, choppy laugh. “The worst thing is that I can’t do anything but feel  _ pity _ for him, no matter how mad I am.”

 “You can at least take some pleasure in knowing he hates pity,” Baekhyun mumbled, earning himself a softer chuckle this time.

 “I guess I can… Maybe I should.”

 “But you can’t.”

 “Nope. In way too deeply, way too fucked.”

 “You’re too nice for that, too,” Chanyeol softly said, reaching out to pat Jongin’s head. “You’re a kind person, Jongin.”

 “And see where that got me,” Jongin said with a sigh, leaning further into Chanyeol’s touch as he closed his eyes.

 “To a bar that’s the front for a sanctuary for various beings in need of protection, who has probably saved quite a lot more people than many others?” Baekhyun suggested, getting a punch to the thigh - but the smile on Jongin’s face was worth it. “Anyway, I need to find where Joohyun’s hiding. You got any clue?”

 “Not really, but I’ll help you look,” Jongin said, standing up. “I can’t just sit still now, I need to do something, even if that is tracking down my dear coworker.”

 “Okay then, let’s go,” Baekhyun said as he also stood up, holding out his hands to help Chanyeol up, and together they went to find Joohyun.

 She was surprisingly hard to find, not appearing in any of the places they searched through. Baekhyun had almost given up hope on actually finding her by the time they were once more back down by the break room, having checked to make sure Kyungsoo was still there.

 “That’s it, she must be a witch or something, she’s completely disappeared…,” Baekhyun muttered, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

 “You should tell him,” Chanyeol said, but as Baekhyun looked up at him to ask what he was talking about, he noticed that Chanyeol was looking at Jongin and not him, while Jongin was sending Chanyeol a look.

 “Tell me what? Dude, please don't tell me you're some kind of god or some shit, too, I can't handle that,” Baekhyun groaned, Jongin laughing in response.

 “Don't worry, I'm not a god,” Jongin promised, and it made Baekhyun feel a bit better.

 A tiny bit, but a tiny bit better was good.

 “But?” Baekhyun weakly asked.

 “ _ But _ , I'm not human, not strictly,” Jongin said with a shrug. “In a way, yes, but more like our dear Chanyeollie. You can call us cousins, species-wise.”

 Throwing his hands into the air, Baekhyun stomped away a few steps, before going back towards Jongin.

 “What the fuck,  _ what the fuck _ ,” Baekhyun hissed, grabbing Jongin’s shirt to shake him a little. “What do you mean with that?! Is anyone I know actually human, or am I about to discover that all of y'all are some kind of non-human?”

 “Joohyun is human,” Jongin said in consolation, patting Baekhyun’s hands. “A few other of the workers here are as well… But most are not.”

 “Of course not,” Baekhyun sighed, releasing Jongin’s shirt. “Okay, can you tell me who’s what? If that’s okay with people?”

 Jongin shrugged at that. “I’m a shapeshifter, Minseok is a hybrid-”

 Holding up a hand, Baekhyun interrupted Jongin before he could continue.

 “A hybrid? But he doesn't have any, uh, animal attributes?” Baekhyun said, motioning towards his head. “I mean, Chanyeol have his ears and tail…”

 Pursing his lips and blowing out a deep breath, Jongin crossed his arms over his chest, looking a bit contemplating. As if trying to come up with the best way to tell Baekhyun whatever story he was about to tell.

 “No, Minseok got his… To keep it PG-13, he got them removed as punishment for helping his younger brother escape,” was what Jongin finally ended up saying.

 “Oh, god…,” Baekhyun whispered in horror, feeling sick to his stomach.

 “Yeah… Yixing did what he could, but…,” Jongin said with a shrug. “He’ll never be quite the same again. But his brother got out unharmed, able to live a happier life.”

 “Well, that’s a silver lining at least…,” Baekhyun mumbled, feeling Chanyeol’s fingers slip between his own, and he wondered who of them was in the most need of comfort. Lucky they could find comfort in each other.

 “I heard you were looking for me?”

 Looking to the side, Baekhyun found Joohyun walking towards them.

 “Hey- wait- where the fuck were you?!” Baekhyun exclaimed. “We looked all over the place!”

 “I said I needed to take care of some things,” Joohyun said, shrugging and smiling. “Now, was it anything important, or were you just out to bother me?”

 “Important,” Baekhyun answered, inclining his head towards the break room. “You mind taking a look at Kyungsoo’s face?”

 “Did he tell you his reasons for what happened?” Joohyun asked, and Baekhyun nodded. “Was it an excuse?”

 “An explanation,” Baekhyun replied.

 Joohyun nodded at that. “Okay then, I’ll help him. You two should head back upstairs and rest some more. Jongin, can you fetch the first aid kit?”

 “Don’t kill him, he already feels bad enough that living is a worse punishment,” Baekhyun said.

 “So dramatic,” Joohyun said with a roll of her eyes, before heading towards the door.

 Since Jongin had already headed off as well, in search of one of the many first aid kits lying around, it was just Baekhyun and Chanyeol left.

 “You want to watch some TV? I think I saw one,” Baekhyun asked the hybrid.

 Cracking a smile, Chanyeol nodded. “Yes, please, that sounds great.”

 “Let’s go then.”

 

 The rest of the day was passed in Joohyun’s room, seated in front of the TV. When evening came around, they went down to the break room again for some food. Kyungsoo was still there, looking a bit better in regards to his injuries, but not much else. After a nod from Baekhyun, Kyungsoo apologized to Chanyeol - who just like Baekhyun had predicted accepted the apology with a smile.

 Chanyeol truly was a better person than many others.

 Deciding to go to bed early, both still so tired, the clock was not even ten when Baekhyun and Chanyeol laid together in bed, close to each other, both consumed with their own minds.

 “Do you know why I started to trust you so easily?” Chanyeol asked in that soft voice of his, but still startling Baekhyun. “Have you ever wondered about that?”

 “Well, yes, I have, but I never really arrived at an answer, no,” Baekhyun answered, turning on his side to face Chanyeol.

 “It was because you asked for my permission about things,” Chanyeol said, eyes just as soft as his voice and his smile. “Ever since day one, you asked for my permission, if I was okay with things, and taking a step back whenever I was uncomfortable or said no. Nobody had really done that before, not even the…  _ Nicer _ clients. You seemed to care about me, truly care, so I trusted,” Chanyeol said with a shrug, turning more thoughtful as he continued. “In hindsight I realize that might’ve been stupid, you could’ve acted caring to win my trust, but thankfully you didn’t. The fact that Jongin trusted and liked you also helped quite a lot, affirming my own instincts about you honestly caring about me.”

 Taking a moment to arrange his thoughts after that revelation, Baekhyun reached out to take Chanyeol’s hand, intertwining their fingers.

 “I’d like to say ‘of course I honestly cared’, but I  _ know _ it’s not as simple as that,” Baekhyun whispered, looking up to meet a blue gaze. “But I’m happy you’ve found my intentions pure enough to be able to continue to trust me.”

 Smile widening slightly, Chanyeol brought their hands up, until they were clutched in the minimal space between their chests.

 “I trust you, a lot, and… I know I’ve already explained a few things,” Chanyeol began, inhaling before continuing, “but if you have more questions, I’ll try to answer them. I want to get to know you fully, and to do so, you need to get to know me too. So just ask.”

 One though immediately popped into Baekhyun’s head - something he had honestly wondered about ever since they first met.

 “Your ears,” he blurted before having the time to second-guess if he should ask that, though he somewhat regretted it as Chanyeol bit down on his lower lip, gaze slipping from Baekhyun’s face.

 “My ears, they're… Associated with things, conditioned to be sensitive to touch in a way I don't want them to be,” Chanyeol said, squeezing his eyes closed. “And everyone always wanted to touch them… Tug on them, caress them, use them…”

 “I understand why you don’t like having them touched, then,” Baekhyun said, swallowing down the nausea filling his throat just from the hints Chanyeol gave, unable to even try to imagine what it had been. “Thank you, for answering.”

 Blinking his eyes open, Chanyeol shrugged as well as he could lying down.

 “I said I would, and I meant it.”

 “Still, thank you,” Baekhyun said. “How about I give you a reward for being so good and brave?”

 “What kind of reward…?” Chanyeol hesitantly said, pulling back a little and making Baekhyun burst out laughing.

 “Nothing bad, I’m just offering you the same as you offered me,” Baekhyun responded. “Ask me anything, and I’ll do my best to answer. Like you said, getting to know each other is a two-way street, and it’s only fair that you get answers to questions too.”

 And so, a few hours were spent on Baekhyun and Chanyeol getting to know each other through a prolonged game of twenty questions.

 

 The next morning came bright and early, bringing with it Joohyun.

 “We’ve got news for you, get dressed and come downstairs,” Joohyun said, disappearing before Baekhyun could barely even open his eyes.

 “I swear, she must be teleporting,” Baekhyun mumbled, getting a tired snicker from Chanyeol.

 They met up with Joohyun in the break room, and she forced them to eat some breakfast before she told her what news she had for them. And Baekhyun was glad she did, because he was absolutely sure he would not have been able to stomach anything afterwards.

 “Yixing is back, and a meeting has been requested, to discuss the situation,” Joohyun said, making both Baekhyun and Chanyeol stiffen in place. “They’ll be arriving in a while, which is why I woke you up early. I want you to be prepared when the time comes.”

 “What are we supposed to do?” Baekhyun asked, throat dry all of a sudden.

 “Nothing much. You two will be staying in a separate room, guarded by a few people,” Joohyun explained. “Me and a few others will be with Yixing, some more standing guard between his office and your room, to make sure that no one reaches you.”

 “Joohyun, this… This is too much,” Baekhyun suddenly said, making Joohyun look up at him in confusion. “All of this… You’re planning as if there’ll be an attack, and I’m very much aware of the fact that there might be, but I don’t want you all to sacrifice yourself.”

 “Most likely we won’t be sacrificing ourselves,” Joohyun responded. “This is what this place is here for, protection, and we  _ will _ protect you from danger. That’s non-negotiable. So just stay in your room, and stay safe.”

 “We will,” Chanyeol promised, pulling Baekhyun into a one-sided hug. “And we’re very grateful.”

 Nodding and smiling, Joohyun then led them over to the room that they would be spending an indefinite time in, until whatever may come came for them.

 After some time, Jongin joined them, Joohyun stepping out after he stepped in.

 “I’ll be on main guard detail for the two of you, your last defense,” Jongin explained. “Yes, Kyungsoo is safe too, but Chanyeol is the main prize to them, so we needed to put our best people on guarding him.

 “And I’m assuming you’re one of them, then?” Baekhyun asked.

 “I’m absolutely, without a doubt, one of the best,” Jongin said with a cheesy wink that almost had Baekhyun fake gagging. “Anyway, there’s still a bit of time before the meeting starts, but they might arrive at any moment, so I don’t recommend going outside of this room.”

 “Duly noted,” Baekhyun responded, giving a mock salute that had Jongin swat after him, but Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun closer and away from his flailing hands. “Hey, no touching, Kim Jongin!”

 Jongin rolled his eyes, silence settling for a while, before Jongin tilted his head to the side.

 “I’ll be right back,” he said, striding out the door before Baekhyun could ask where he was going.

 “Uh, okay, bye then,” Baekhyun said into thin air, hearing a chuckle from next to him. “What? He just left suddenly and didn’t give me a chance to say anything!”

 “He’ll be back, you’re silly,” Chanyeol said.

 Before Baekhyun could retort to  _ that _ , someone else interrupted them.

 “Hi, hyung,” Sehun said, peeking inside through the door opening. “I’ll be standing guard outside of the door with Tao and Minseok, just so you know.”

 “Sehunnie, you too?!” Baekhyun exclaimed in shock.

 “Sorry, hyung,” Sehun said with a shrug and a crooked smile.

 “I can’t believe,” Baekhyun sighed. “God or half-human?”

 “Half-human, I’m a shifter,” Sehun answered, and Baekhyun felt relief at that. “But yeah, just scream if you need us.”

 After Baekhyun nodded to show that he had heard and understood, Sehun popped back out, leaving Baekhyun and Chanyeol alone once more.

 “I feel so inadequate, just a puny human among all of these supernatural beings…,” Baekhyun complained, in return getting a pat on the head from Chanyeol. “Thanks, sweetie, I feel much better now.”

 Grinning, Chanyeol leaned down to place a quick peck on Baekhyun’s cheek, a warmth spreading from the area of contact and down throughout Baekhyun’s body.

 “Okay, now I can say, completely non-sarcastically, that I feel better,” Baekhyun said, smiling up at Chanyeol. “Thank you.”

 “No problems,” Chanyeol responded, a proud look on his face that made him look utterly adorable, and Baekhyun was close to get up on the tips of his toes to give the hybrid a big smooch when the door was nudged open and catching Baekhyun’s attention.

 A  _ very _ large canine walked over to them, stopping by Baekhyun’s side and tilting his head.

 Jongin. It was Jongin.

 “You  _ really _ are a good boy, huh?” Baekhyun said as he looked down at the grey...wolf?, next to him.

 Apparently not liking the pun, Jongin bared his teeth and growled, but Baekhyun did not find it too threatening. And anyway, he had another good boy next to him who was growling right back.

 Cutting himself off with a whine, Jongin lowered his head, tail curling between his legs, blinking with the most ultimate puppy eyes that Baekhyun had ever seen. Which sort of made sense, since Jongin was currently in animal form.

 “I don’t care, playfully or not you’re not allowed to threaten him,” Chanyeol hissed, making Baekhyun send Jongin a smug grin.

 Grumbling to himself, Jongin walked ahead and sat down in front of them, the back against them a very obvious statement even though he was only about a meter away from them.

 “So, uh, do you know  _ what _ he is?” Baekhyun asked, glancing up at Chanyeol.

 “Dire wolf,” Chanyeol answered, Jongin’s tail swishing once against the floor.

 Baekhyun blinked a couple of times, trying to let the information sink in. Like, were dire wolves not extinct, since like a long time ago?

 “That’s… Surprising? How  _ do _ you know, anyway?” Baekhyun asked, eyes scanning his currently fluffy friend.

 Maybe that explained why Jongin had always been a pretty good friend… Baekhyun should probably not ask him that question, Chanyeol could only protect him from  _ that _ much.

 “He told me,” Chanyeol said, and Baekhyun could see him looking down at Jongin as well. “I could smell the wolf on him the first time I came here, matching the scent on the clothes you borrowed me in the beginning. Whenever he got a free moment and you were busy, he’d tell me snippets, including things about himself.”

 When Jongin threw a glance over his shoulder at them, Baekhyun pouted.

 “You told Chanyeol before me? We’ve been friends for years, Jongin, I’m very upset!”

 Letting his tongue hang out of his mouth, Jongin panted in a way that made Baekhyun think that he might be laughing. Think and think, Baekhyun  _ suspected _ he was doing so, was rather sure he was, and he felt his usual need to kick Jongin whenever he was being an ass. It was weaker today though, which Baekhyun suspected might be because he was not in the least inclined to injure animals in any way whatsoever. Not even annoying friend animals.

 “You’re lucky you’re a dog and I’d never be able to hurt a puppy,” Baekhyun muttered, getting a dark glare in return.

 Then the waiting game began. They had no idea how long the meeting would take, nor what would happen during it. All the could to was to stay prepared for whatever might come, though Baekhyun very much disliked not knowing what was going on. It made him feel antsy, but if the way Jongin paced every now and then told Baekhyun something, it was that he was feeling the same. Chanyeol, too, continuously fiddling with Baekhyun’s clothes or fingers, whatever of Baekhyun that he could get his hands on.

 About an hour was what ended up passing without any news or explosions, and Baekhyun was as close to going mad as he had ever been in his entire life. But finally, it was over, and the sentence about to fall.

 As the door opened, Baekhyun quickly stepped in front of Chanyeol, Jongin getting up as well - but thankfully it was only Yixing. He was wearing a dark look that had Baekhyun wonder if he had just committed a mass murder - was he able to do that? How powerful was he really?

 “The worst I’ve ever had to deal with,” Yixing hissed under his breath as he got closer, and Baekhyun could actually  _ feel _ the rippling in the air from whatever magic his boss possessed. “They know the consequences of going after you again, and I’m positive they won’t try it.”

 “Do I want to know what you told them?” Baekhyun asked.

 Looking over at Baekhyun, Yixing smiled. It was a terrifying smile, predatory, yet still so beautiful and making him look like an angel of death. Baekhyun had no chance of fighting the shiver running down his back, so he simply did not try.

 “No, most probably not,” Yixing answered, face relaxing back to his normal dimpled smile, if yet a bit more tired than usual. “Your freedom has been granted, Chanyeol, and it’ll stay protected under my care. Live a long and happy life.”

 “I will,” Chanyeol answered. “Thank you.”

 “You don’t have to thank me for this, I just wish you’d never had to get into this situation,” Yixing responded, dragging a hand through his hair. “I’ve seen so many civilizations rise and fall, one worse than the other, but I wonder if this one might not be the worst one yet… Anyway, I won’t bore you with an old man’s ramblings. I’ve sent Sehun and Tao to make sure your apartment is clear of any intruders, Baekhyun, and to also make sure there aren’t any dangers left behind.”

 “Thank you,” Baekhyun said, offering his boss a smile.

 “I know I made a good decision when I hired you,” Yixing said, returning the smile as he placed a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder and gently squeezed. “You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want and need, the room is Chanyeol’s after all, but I suspect you’d want to go back home as soon as possibly. It’s a bit cramped here, after all.”

 With a chuckle, Baekhyun nodded his agreement.


	10. Epilogue

 Soft morning light was filtering into the room, from where they had forgotten to pull the blinds down all the way the evening before, when Baekhyun blearily blinked his eyes open. Reaching out and managing to grab his phone without sending it off of the edge, Baekhyun checked the time, before he sighed.

 Time to go up and face the world.

 “Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispered with a sleep-hoarse voice, gently pushing at the unresponsive hybrid.

 All it earned him was a whine, and he chortled.

 He was so different, the Chanyeol of now, compared to the Chanyeol during those first months after that fateful night. Sure, sometimes he still woke up from nightmares, not knowing where he was, crying in despair over thinking he was back at the club. And sometimes, he reverted back to his old shyer ways, barely talking, trying to make himself appear smaller, fidgeting with his fingers or sleeves.

 But most of the time, he was like a brand new hybrid, scarred but healed, stronger than before. It was more than obvious from the way he was currently sprawled out across the bed, snoring and not caring that Baekhyun was pushing at him. Had it been a year ago, he would have already been up and pushing himself into a corner, eyes darting around to try to find the danger. Or he might have been threateningly hovering above Baekhyun, fang and claw ready to rip him apart, but hopefully waking up enough before actually  _ doing _ it.

 “ _ Chanyeol _ ,” Baekhyun tried again, putting some more whine into his voice - and this had better effect.

 In a way, at least.

 Whining once more, Chanyeol rolled over onto his side, blindly searching for Baekhyun and then curling around him with a soft sigh. Not quite what Baekhyun had wanted, but now the hybrid was close enough for Baekhyun to employ some heavier weapons.

 In other words - attack Chanyeol’s ears.

 They were still sensitive, but not quite as much as before, and in a different way. After some semi-scientific (not really) therapy, and a lot of touching, the ear-touching was associated with more normal pleasure, as in how nice it felt to have your ears touched, or being scratched behind them. Much like how Baekhyun suspected it felt for a dog to have it’s ears touched. They were still sensitive for other things, as well, and Baekhyun had managed to find a few spots that were linked to other reactions, as well as figured out that everything seemed to rewire as soon as Chanyeol became aroused, but it was still different from before.

 Reaching out, Baekhyun began to softly trace the incredibly fluffy fur of the ears, starting at the base and going up. Moving on to using all of his fingers, Baekhyun began to move the fur up, towards the tip, making it stand up in a way it normally did not, cooing a little over how cute it was. And over how adorable it was when the ear began to twitch.

 Not long after, a groan was heard, and Chanyeol began to rub his face against Baekhyun’s chest.

 “Why annoying?” Chanyeol grumbled, obviously not feeling up for speaking properly just quite yet.

 “Because it’s time to wake up, sweetie,” Baekhyun answered, fingers moving to card through Chanyeol’s hair instead, smiling as it had the hybrid shiver against him.

 “Don’t wanna,” Chanyeol weakly protested, but he sounded a lot more awake by now - which meant that Baekhyun was winning.

 “Sometimes you gotta do things you don’t wanna do, babe,” Baekhyun chirped, before rolling over so that he could throw a leg over Chanyeol’s hip and hold him close. “I’ll tell you a secret, I don’t want to go up either… But we still have to, so don’t even try to convince me otherwise.”

 “I’m great at convincing,” Chanyeol muttered, nibbling on Baekhyun’s shirt, against his sternum, goosebumps spreading from the area.

 “I know you are, which is why I’m telling you before you even start,” Baekhyun said, pulling back enough to be able to get a hand in between them to cup the hybrid’s chin and tilt his head up. “Stop that, I know exactly what you’re trying to do.”

 “What am I trying to do?” Chanyeol asked, impishness in his voice as he rolled them over, until Baekhyun was beneath him.

 “Convince me to stay in bed longer,” Baekhyun answered, trying to sound stern but most probably failing. He still adored Chanyeol a bit more than perhaps necessary, was still incredibly weak for the hybrid, and it showed. “We really should go up…”

 “Do you want to?” Chanyeol asked, the seriousness in his voice hinting towards the permission that always was asked for before anything progressed further, lips now against Baekhyun’s collarbones.

 “Ugh, no,” Baekhyun replied, moving to pull Chanyeol up enough to be able to kiss him.

 It was still a bit like magic, kissing Chanyeol. It was not the way Chanyeol knew how Baekhyun liked to kiss, since Baekhyun had taught him to kiss properly, and it was not the way the rather sharp canines added an edge (heh) to the kiss, but it was just from the fact that Baekhyun was kissing Chanyeol. They were kissing, and it was magical.

 Arranging himself a bit more comfortably, Chanyeol put his entire weight down on Baekhyun, pinning him in place as Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s shoulders. One of Baekhyun’s favorite things was to run his hands up and down Chanyeol’s nape, feeling nothing but skin as he did nowadays.

 The collar had since long been removed, as well as the various piercings. Baekhyun had not been allowed into the room as the piercings were removed, and Baekhyun was rather happy about that. He had not needed to feel more anger towards the scum that had done that to Chanyeol by seeing just what it took to remove them.

 For a while after everything had been removed, Chanyeol had put a regular piercing jewelry in his tongue, the kind that you could actually remove without cutting through it. Baekhyun had gotten the chance to experience the ‘magic’ behind a tongue piercing, but they were both very much in agreement that it was not needed, and much better to be removed to get rid of that reminder as well.

 Somehow, Chanyeol managed to wriggle Baekhyun out of his shirt, allowing Chanyeol full access to his body. Baekhyun thought it was a great magic trick, while Chanyeol blamed his past for it - though he did enjoy that Baekhyun found it a rather amazing ability. Luckily, Chanyeol was also very good of getting out of his own clothes impossibly fast in impossible situations, so it was not long before they were skin on skin, chest against chest.

 Ducking down, Chanyeol began to press kisses against the dragon climbing its way up the side of Baekhyun’s ribs. For some reason, he loved the tattoo, always spending at least some time on appreciating it. Then he would move down to the veins showing the way down underneath Baekhyun’s underwear, getting them out of the way before moving back up Baekhyun’s body.

 Welcoming Chanyeol back, Baekhyun ran his hands down the hybrid’s sides, one across the ink painting Chanyeol’s own ribs, before they continued down to get rid of Chanyeol’s underwear.

 A few months ago, Chanyeol had decided to get a tattoo of a phoenix, to symbolize him escaping his old life and being reborn as a new and stronger version of himself. It also turned into a bit of a joke between them - Baekhyun with the dragon and Chanyeol with the phoenix, a royal couple.

 After having gotten the underwear down, the tail somewhat of an obstruction, Baekhyun grabbed two handfuls of butt.

 “You’re filling out so well, Chanyeollie, looking so handsome!” Baekhyun could not help but teasingly coo, patting the hybrid’s cheeks adoringly, enjoying both the frown and the pursed lips, as well as the rose-tinted skin.

 “Shut up and kiss me,” Chanyeol muttered, and Baekhyun laughed before doing as told.

 If Chanyeol wanted kisses, he would get  _ all _ the kisses. That was just how it worked, Baekhyun did not make the rules.

 As the kisses turned more heated, hands began to wander, and it was not long before they were moving against each other and Chanyeol reached down to wrap a hand around them both. It was almost always Chanyeol whenever they did it together, to let him control things and do it however he wanted. And Baekhyun got so much pleasure from Chanyeol feeling good that he did not need to do it his way or whatever anyway.

 He was more than satisfied with allowing Chanyeol to take control.

 Not long after, the kisses were interrupted by pants and gasps, until they disappeared altogether. And as always, Chanyeol buried his face against Baekhyun’s neck, softly biting down on his skin and making him arc further into the hybrid’s touch, until they both came undone.

 “You know we need to shower now, right?” Baekhyun said as they calmed down, still pressed against each other.

 “ _ No _ ,” Chanyeol whined, but Baekhyun was adamant.

 “Yes, we do, we’re all nasty and stuff,” Baekhyun responded. “But I’ll let you shower with me, and I promise to even help you wash your hair, if we go now. Or, well, after my legs have stopped trembling.

 “Okay, I guess I’ll have to agree to that,” Chanyeol chuckled.

 

 It was a normal Thursday night, and Baekhyun was as per usual watching Jongin flirt. Or, rather, being the softest shit ever and throwing shy smiles all around. Basically like every other Thursday that Kyungsoo, Baekhyun’s sorta-best friend, ended up in the bar where they worked.

 Kyungsoo was not immune to Jongin’s charm, never had been, and finally he was letting himself open up and accept the advances. It had been a long time coming, and from what Baekhyun knew a lot of discussing, but they had finally reached the dating stage. They were taking it slow, but progress was progress.

 “Young love is beautiful,” Chanyeol murmured as he draped himself across Baekhyun’s back.

 “Young love my ass, they’re both old,” Baekhyun snorted. “Also, what are you doing, I thought you had a customer to serve?”

 “I’m a quick drink maker, I’m already done,” Chanyeol said, before adding a bit more. “And tap beer isn’t that slow of process anyway, so.”

 “Okay, that’s good, it’s not good work morals to ignore customers to cling to your boyfriend, you know,” Baekhyun said, tapping one of the arms wrapped around him.

 “Oh, never would I ever,” Chanyeol impishly said, before pressing a kiss to Baekhyun’s shoulder and releasing him. “You should also get back to work, you don’t need to watch over them.”

 “I’m not watching over them, they’re just bringing back memories,” Baekhyun said. “This reminds me a lot about the first time we met, they were sort of acting like this then too. Except that Jongin was trying to get into Kyungsoo’s pants, and Kyungsoo was playing so hard to catch that not even I could see through it. So yeah, it brings back memories.”

 “I don’t know if that night is something that’s too nice to remember, but I’m still very grateful for it,” Chanyeol said, and Baekhyun turned to smile up at him. “It brought us together, even though it was in a very brutal and painful way.”

 Baekhyun could not help but laugh at that. “True, my baby is still sorry about that. And you have a point, it was a dark night in more ways than one, but it  _ did _ bring us together. Who would have known that a runaway hybrid and a bike crash would end in everlasting love?”

 Flustered and obviously a bit overwhelmed, Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun into a hug, and Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Chanyeol and held him tight because he understood. Even after everything they had been through, after all of the progress in their relationship, Chanyeol was still a bit afraid. Afraid of being loved, because he still somewhat expected life to steal all of his happiness and love away.

 But he was getting better, much better, and Baekhyun would forever hold him whenever Chanyeol needed it, he would always reassure and help him. Because Baekhyun loved Chanyeol, and Baekhyun was hellbent on making sure that Chanyeol always knew that, and that nothing would steal them away from each other.

 Come hell or high water, Baekhyun would make sure they stayed together. Even if he would have to fight the fates, he would do it. Hopefully Yixing would be able to help him, but Baekhyun would be prepared to take them on all on his own.

 Chanyeol deserved all of the happiness, and Baekhyun would fight everyone to give him it. Simple as that.

**Author's Note:**

> Come cry and scream at me in the comments, I'll scream right along after reveals<3


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